Halo: Arbitrary Love
by CrazyBirdMan59
Summary: Alternate ending to Halo 3. Sangheili and Humans must engage in politics to settle diplomatic relations and secure the alliance once and for all. The Arbiter finds herself in the centre of these demanding proceedings. But is a certain human getting a bit fidgety around her? Is he falling in love? Female OOC Arbiter x OC Male Human romance. Swearing, violence and sexual material.
1. Chapter 1: The Halo

"We are aboard. Humans and Elites. Will you not come with us brother?" Rtas asked over the comms.

"No, this is our fight. And I _will _see it finished," Arbiter growled. Master Chief nodded slightly in approval as he steered the Pelican towards the snowy ground of the Halo. He swerved upwards, but the Flood must have damaged the landing gear, because all he could do was crash, sending a spray of snow up into the air. They both climbed out via the troop bay and the back hatch that adjoined it. This was it, time to finish the fight once and for all. With Truth dead, the only thing left to do was to detonate this ring and wipe out the Flood.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"This better work son or I swear on my momma's grave I will plant my foot so far up your ass you'll need a laser cutter to get it out!" Johnson barked nervously. Daniel shrugged as he pulled his Turquoise-striped ODST helmet on. He stepped back from the engine and admired his handiwork.

"Considering how many plasma rounds hit this thing and the supplies I had to work with, I did pretty well," he commented.

"Pretty well?" Johnson repeated. "We don't need an engine that works _pretty well._ The Master Chief will need cover fire ASAP, and that ain't going to happen with an engine that works _pretty well_!"

"Alright Sarge," Daniel sighed as he stepped into the elevator. Johnson followed suit, and soon the two of them were ascending to the bridge. Daniel hurdled the co-pilot's chair then sat down in it. "I can't believe they expected you to fly this by yourself," he remarked as his eyes scanned the banks of controls. Johnson sat himself down in the pilot's seat and smirked.

"Then you ain't never seen me in action boy. You will believe. I'll _make _you believe." Johnson chuckled and watched Daniel brace himself for the ride of his life.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Minutes later, Johnson leapt out of the driver's seat.

"Wait here," he commanded as Daniel handed him his Spartan Laser. Johnson sprinted out to the ridge that ran alongside the Control Room, assisting the Master Chief from higher ground. Eventually they managed to get inside, with the assistance of 343 Guilty Spark of course.

"This facility should be ready to fire in just a few more days," the Monitor stated with a hint of excitement.

"We don't _have _a few more days!" Johnson growled angrily, his hand holding Cortana shaking slightly.

"B-b-but a pre-mature firing will destroy the Ark!"

"Deal with it," Johnson snapped.

"It will destroy this installation," Oracle muttered darkly. He began to glow red, but Johnson didn't notice as he was too busy inserting Cortana's chip into the control panel and Master Chief was sharing a look with Arbiter at the Oracle's words.

"Gaah!" Johnson fell to his knees as he was struck by the Monitor's powerful laser.

"Unacceptable. Unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable!" Oracle shrieked. Master Chief charged at the angry Monitor. He lasered the Spartan, who thankfully had shielding to absorb the blast. "Protocol dictates action! I see now that helping you was WRONG!" Arbiter began trying to sneak up on him, but Guilty Spark saw this and fired off another beam of red at the also-shielded soldier. Master Chief tried to get up, but he received another short burst for his trouble. "You are the child of my makers, inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner," he droned on. "But this ring, is _mine_." His eye glowed red again as he spoke this last part. Master Chief began spraying the Monitor with fire from his Assault Rifle, allowing Arbiter the time to grab Johnson's Spartan Laser. The large weapon hummed as it charged up, making Guilty Spark half-turn before getting struck in the face by the laser. The Monitor began rambling as Arbiter shot him again and again, until finally the floating eyeball exploded. Master Chief ran to Johnson's side while the Arbiter just hung back in the doorway.

"Send me out... with a bang," Johnson grunted, before his head lolled back. The next few moments were a blur for the Master Chief, and the next thing he knew he was following the Arbiter out of the control room and towards the ice ridge Johnson had come from. They fought their way through a small structure until they finally came across Johnson's Warthog.

"There!" Cortana exclaimed. "Johnson's Warthog... is that an ODST?" Indeed, standing in the gunner's seat was an ODST, mowing down Flood forms. Master Chief swung himself into the driver's seat, allowing Arbiter to slide into the passenger side. Master Chief instantly slammed his foot on the pedal. "Go Spartan go go go!" Cortana urged as Chief swerved around a icy rock face, revealing a vast plain of bare metal plates that made up the structure of the ring. It was a perilous ride from then on, Chief had to drive through exploding segments and collapsing structures. However, he didn't realise one of the plates wasn't as stable as he had originally thought, and it fell away as the front right wheel's weight was put on it. The Warthog swerved wildly out of control as its wheel caught, ultimately causing it to roll over, shattering the windscreen and snapping off the back bumper. Arbiter and Daniel were strewn across the ground as Chief quickly rightened the vehicle. Daniel threw himself into the nearest seat, the passenger's, as the ground behind them began to fall away. Arbiter was running across this ground and jumped as high as he could to reach the Warthog from his sunken ground. Just as he missed and started to fall, a hand shot out to grab his wrist. Arbiter glanced up to see Daniel attempting to pull his weight back into the Warthog. Arbiter was surprisingly light compared to the other Sangheili Daniel had fought with. He managed to raise him to the point where he could pull himself into the vehicle just as Master Chief slammed his foot on the acceleration.

"Gun it Chief. Jump! Floor it right into the hangar!" Cortana urged as the Forward Unto Dawn came into view. The Warthog soared through the air towards the hangar. Arbiter's eyes widened as he saw the floor approaching, so, clinging to the side of the vehicle as he was, he pushed himself off and landed with an "oof" on the hard floor. Daniel yelped and rolled out as the Warthog flipped end over end, getting bashed up until it finally slide to a halt, upside-down. Daniel groaned as he picked himself up onto his knees. The ship lurched, making the Warthog slide slightly towards him, so he stuck out a hand to steady it. A nearby Scorpion Tank started rolling towards the doorway at the back of the room, the only way out of the hangar. Master Chief, the closest, sprinted towards the doorway and managed to dive in just as the Scorpion slammed into it, blocking it off. Daniel reached it seconds after and began futilely trying to move the Scorpion out of the way. He soon realised this was impossible and the ship bean to gain speed as Master Chief, or more likely Cortana, flew away from the Halo Ring. Daniel grabbed Arbiter's hand.

"Come on! We don't have much time!" he explained as he led the large alien towards the open exit of the hangar. He clambered out and began to climb up to another level of the ship. Arbiter followed, confused but trusting the human.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

The bulk of the front half of the Forward Unto Dawn soared towards the Earth, landing in the ocean. A crew of engineers cut open the ship and Master Chief climbed out. He was flown back to land via a Pelican where he was met by Lord Hood.

"Johnson? Arbiter?" the Admiral asked. Master Chief shook his head. Hood sighed. "What on Earth...?" Chief followed the old man's gaze and saw it. A beaten and smoking Pelican plummeting down, spiralling and showing no signs of slowing down. It crashed into the water with a spray of water. The Pelican next to Lord Hood was instantly packed once again with the engineering crew and their equipment.

Daniel groggily opened his eyes. Out the front window he could see the shores of Earth. It had worked. They had made it to the Pelican bay in time, though he probably could have gotten a lot more protection from the Forward Unto Dawn's shielding with a little more time. He looked around for the Arbiter, before realising he was laying atop the Sangheili in question. Daniel gasped and quickly leapt to his feet.

"S-sorry," Daniel apologised. "That was a suggestive position. I didn't mean anything by it!" he cried, suddenly realising the implications of what he'd just said. The Arbiter nodded at him. "I mean, I'm not homosexual or anything!" Daniel continued, missing the gesture. Arbiter put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know human. And call me Thelya. That is my name."

"Th-Thelya?" Daniel inquired. "That's a boy's name?"

"No," the Arbiter – Thelya – chuckled with a wink. "My kind has their reasons for thinking I am male, but humans just assume," he – she – explained. Daniel blushed and instinctively looked away to hide it, even though there was no way she could have seen him through his polarised visor. "I hope you do not plan on telling anyone, because I might have to kill you if you do." Daniel smiled, but read the serious tone beneath her jest.

"If it's important to you... then no, I won't say a word."

"You can still speak," she scoffed. "Just not of this conversation and the information it has revealed." Daniel found himself smiling again.

"It's just an expression."

"Oh, how peculiar." The cockpit of the Pelican was opened and an engineer held out a hand to help someone out. Seeing that Thelya wouldn't know how this procedure worked, Daniel went first, accepting the hand that hoisted him up onto the hull of the Pelican. "Oh, and human," Thelya called.

"Daniel," he corrected her.

"Daniel... thank you." Daniel pulled his helmet off, so Thelya would be able to view the gentle smile on his face.

"Any time... sir."


	2. Chapter 2: Opportunities

Daniel sat alone at lunch time. There were a few others like him, but none were brave enough to interact with each other. That is, people who were the last of their squads. Everything was scattered and confused in that aspect. No one knew whether their teams were dead or on anther ship that hadn't been given the all clear to unload its passengers yet. There were quite a few Elites, Sangheili, around too, seeing as they had played a major role they were in much the same state as the humans, but they went about it in a much more dignified way. Daniel knew for a fact that his squad was dead. He had watched them die supporting the Master Chief on the Ark. The last one had been obliterated by a blast from one of the two Scarabs they had encountered in the snow. That's why he had been paired up with Johnson, who had also lost his squad. But now he was dead too. He found himself picking at his food rather than eating it. He had lost himself in the memories of his old squad and made the already unappetising food even less appealing.

"Mind if I join you?" a familiar voice asked. Daniel snapped out of his trance and glanced up at the speaker. Thelya had her head tilted, looking at him expectantly.

"No, of course not. I-I mean, I would be glad of the company! I wasn't suggesting anything!" Thelya did something with her mandibles that resembled a smirk while shaking her head. She sat down opposite him and stared at the MRE before her curiously. She watched Daniel eat his food, making him blush awkwardly. Finally, she figured out how to eat the food from her studies and began consuming the bland meal.

"Not the best food I have ever tasted," she admitted. Daniel laughed.

"Don't let it put you off human food. Real food is great. This? Not so much." They shared a laugh, and Daniel finally noticed that they were attracting a few curious glances. He realised how odd it must look, the Arbiter sitting with a mere ODST Sergeant, laughing and having a good time. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Thelya decided to break it.

"Um... so there is going to be a small memorial tomorrow, then I am going to be heading back to Sangheilios, our home planet," she added, in case he didn't know. Daniel wondered where this was going.

"Yes?" he said, both signalling her to continue and asking her what this had to do with him.

"Well, I was wondering... there is going to be a small diplomatic party coming on board to establish a better connection between our two races... will you come along?" Daniel laughed.

"I don't think so," he told her. He suddenly went gravely silent when he saw the look of hurt on her face. "Oh!" he realised, his eyes going wide. "You were asking me if I _wanted _to come! Yes, of course I would, but I doubt my superiors would allow it. I'm hardly a diplomat, and a mere sergeant too. I'm not exactly who they would pick for the job." Thelya grinned knowingly.

"It is our ship. What right do they have to pick who comes and who does not?" Daniel's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"You would do that?" he exclaimed, not caring about the looks he was being given by onlookers.

"You have proven yourself to me continuously; I have trusted you with my life and still do. You would be a great asset to have with me." Daniel was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"I get to go to Sangheilios!" he cried. "If you weren't a guy, I'd kiss you!" Daniel told her, not being careless enough to blow her cover. Daniel had always had a passion about Sangheili, even before they became allies. He had always wanted to learn more about them and their cultures, their planet and anything else he possibly could. And now was his chance. He supposed he'd better explain that to Thelya later, but right now he had work to do. "I'm gonna go pack!" He then rushed off to retrieve what little belongings he had. Thelya chuckled and leaned back. She glanced around at the spectators who had been watching that whole thing.

"Do not ask me, I have no idea," she laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Thelya knocked on Daniel's barracks' door and awaited a response. A young man opened the door and peered at her. He saluted.

"Arbiter! What brings you here?" he asked.

"Is Daniel in?" she inquired.

"Yeah," he answered. "Daniel! Yer boyfriend's here!" the man yelled before shuffling back inside. Thelya snorted and leaned against the door frame. Daniel emerged with a surprisingly small bag slung over his shoulder and an enormous grin on his face.

"Is that all you will need?" Thelya asked, doubting he had all of his possessions in that one bag. Daniel nodded.

"Clothes, my personal Tactical Data Pad, radio a couple of other bits and pieces. Should be sorted, right?"

"Mm," Thelya agreed. "Though you may need a bigger gun. I doubt the weapon you have in there is very substantial."

"What?"

"You have brought a weapon?" Thelya almost yelled.

"N-no," Daniel stammered. Thelya sighed.

"Then we must stop at the armoury. You cannot come to Sangheilios without a weapon; you need to show you are a warrior. The best way to do this is to wear a weapon. Not to mention there is the possibility of assassins or Brutes." Daniel gulped and nodded. He made his way into the armoury and grabbed a DMR and a Magnum, then clipped them onto their appropriate places on his armour. He was about to leave when a Gunnery Sergeant spotted him.

"Daniel," she greeted. "You're coming to Sangheilios too, right?" she asked. Daniel nodded her the affirmative. "Thank god," she sighed. "You'll know where we go then? I've been searching for someone to show me for about half an hour now!" Daniel chuckled and told her to follow him. As he turned, she noticed his DMR on his back. "Wait!" she hailed him. He stopped and turned to face her. She tossed him a sheath which held one of the infamous Hyabusa Katanas. "Most Sangheili will be carrying an Energy Sword around, in case you get into a fight with a swordsman, you'll need a sword." Daniel thanked her, then she introduced herself. "Gunnery Sergeant Katharine Rye," she informed him. "But you can call me Kath. Pleasure to have you on board." Daniel asked her how she had known his name as he led her to where Thelya was waiting. "Thel – The Arbiter – told me about you. How you fought beside h-him! During the battle of the Ark. And later how you saved him on the Halo. Twice." Daniel smiled.

"You know Thely – " Daniel caught himself before he said 'Thelya'. "Thel?" he finished weakly, but she noticed the slip. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh good, you know. You never know who she has and hasn't told. Best to guard yer mouth anyways, just in case." Daniel pieced together that she knew Thelya was female. He laughed, also in relief.

"Yeah," he agreed. They both stepped out of the room and were met by Arbiter.

"Katharine, it is good to see you," Thelya smiled. Kath hugged her.

"It's still Kath Thelya," Kath replied as she pulled away.

"This is, of course, Daniel. The one I have told you about, but you probably already know that," Thelya told her. She nodded. "Then let us go. Rtas is awaiting us." She led the two humans to a Phantom that was waiting to take them up to the main ship.


	3. Chapter 3: Settling In

Daniel threw his bag onto his bed. He had been quite surprised when Thelya had informed him that he, and the rest of the human ambassadors, would have their own private quarters. The accommodations reminded him greatly of a human hotel suite. There was the main room with a small kitchen in one corner and two adjacent rooms; a small bathroom and a tiny room containing a bed and a shelf for clothes and whatnot. Daniel hung his DMR on a small rack by the door and began removing his armour. He pulled on some plain grey fatigues and left to explore a bit. They would be spending about a week on the ship before they reached Sangheilios, so Daniel felt he needed to familiarise himself with the ship's layout. He pulled out his data pad and started mapping out the place as he explored it. Kath had her quarters just across the corridor from his own, so he attached her name to the appropriate room. After an hour and hundreds of rooms, he found himself at one of the hangars. In it he found two Pelicans, two Mongooses and a Warthog, along with three UNSC weapon crates. It seemed as though the humans were bringing along a few souvenirs. He almost turned and left, but he spied the Arbiter talking to a General about the vehicles. Daniel leaned over the railing to try and hear what was being said below him, but he was two stories higher than them, so it proved impossible. He shrugged to himself and retraced his steps back to the main elevators. His stomach growled, and he searched through the map he'd made, only to find he hadn't discovered any mess halls yet. He frowned and began making his way back to his quarters when the elevator next to him opened and Arbiter stepped out.

"Oh, Daniel. What are you doing?" she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. Daniel slid his data pad into his pocket and smiled weakly.

"I'm looking for the mess hall. Could you take me?"

"Of course," Thelya chuckled. "I was just heading there myself." She motioned for him to follow, to which he gladly obliged. "I came to your room earlier, but you were not there. Katharine was, so if you require a map of the ship, she is the one to ask." She stopped outside Daniel's quarters. Daniel gave her a questioning look. "I have already told you; you must wear your weapons and combat armour in public. Just a small weapon will do." Daniel sighed.

"No peeking," he joked as he stepped into his room. Thelya rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall. Three minutes later, Daniel emerged wearing his ODST armour, minus the helmet. He had a small pistol holstered on his hip. As they began walking Daniel gave her a curious look, then glanced at the floor.

"Is something wrong?" Thelya asked.

"No," Daniel replied slowly. "I was just thinking... why is it you need to hide your gender?" Thelya sighed. She knew the question would come eventually. Knowing the corridors would be almost deserted at this time, she launched into a full explanation.

"We did not always have gender inequality, male and female Sangheili were once on equal terms. That is when I joined the military. But then the Covenant demanded that females would be left behind to care for young and their keeps. Some especially skilful females were allowed in, but only for rudimentary tasks. I decided it was in my best interests to pretend I was male, and those who knew my true gender either knew I was too much of an asset to lose or were dead. It is also good for keeping away males who wish to court me, for my husband would have some degree of control over my life. And being a very influential person, that would not be a good thing for me." Daniel chewed this over in his head. He grinned suddenly.

"It must have been satisfying to stab that sexist bastard Truth in the back," he commented. Thelya grinned also.

"You have no idea. I hope things will go back to how they were now that the Covenant has fallen." A door in front of them swished open and revealed a vast hall filled with tables and chairs and hundreds of Sangheili using them. There was a murmur of chatter as the soldiers ate their food. In a less populated corner, three humans sat at their own table, looking as though they were trying to make themselves as small as possible. They were eating their food silently and looked more than a little intimidated by the aliens surrounding them. Daniel and Thelya approached, grabbing their own food on the way.

"Oh, thank god you're here Thel," Kath greeted her, then turned to Daniel. "Hi." The other two were guys. They were incredibly shy and spoke in mumbles. The first one was a British brown-haired ODST Lieutenant called Chris. The other was an African-American by the name of Pete. He was a Staff Sergeant in the Marine division. He was considerably less shy than Chris, but still spoke in a low voice. Daniel noticed they were all marines and asked where the civilian ambassadors were.

"They will be at the other mess hall. It is closer to their quarters, which are in the Luxury Division. You are staying in the Soldier Division, which is why this mess hall is closer. My quarters are up in the Luxury Division, but I find myself moving around a lot, so I come to this mess hall quite often," Thelya explained. Daniel noticed that she changed the pitch of her voice to make it slightly deeper, probably to further disguise herself as a male. Daniel hadn't noticed this before, but then again, the gap between when he first time he met her and the Halo event was quite huge compared to the ten seconds between their conversation in the corridor and now. He found himself thinking about the first time they had met, on the Phantom outside the third tower. _The shield fell, allowing access to the Prophet of Truth's hideout. Daniel saluted the Master Chief and thanked him for the ride, motioning towards the wrecked Hornet. He chuckled at his own small attempt at humour just as the Arbiter brushed past him. He gaped at the majestic figure for a few moments, before snapping back into reality and saluting the highest-ranking Elite he knew. The Arbiter chuckled._

_"No need to salute me human. I am not of your military."_

_"With all due respect, so what? You still deserve my respect, especially for all the help you've given us."_

_"I have killed more humans than I have saved," the Arbiter said gravely. "But perhaps, if you can forgive that, there is more credit to give humanity than I thought. Your race is compassionate, something I hope the Sangheili will adopt in the future." Daniel watched him as he climbed into the green Phantom. Daniel watched the vehicle fly away._

_"Quit daydreaming Corporal, the war's not over yet," Private Pete Gerth yelled. Daniel mentally slapped himself and ran over to the group of UNSC vehicles. He clambered into the passenger seat of the Guass Warthog. He was surprised to see Master Chief sitting next to him. Once again, he was going to be in for a rough ride with the Spartan._

"Well?" Kath asked. Daniel quickly snapped out of his memories only to find everyone looking at him expectantly.

"W-what was that?" Daniel asked, blushing because he was making a fool of himself in front of the Arbiter. _Wait, why do I care?_ He asked himself.

"Always have your head in the clouds, don't you?" Staff Sergeant Pete Gerth chuckled. Daniel blushed even harder and knew everyone could see it now. He could see Thelya smirking at him out of the corner of his eye.

"I said: Anyone taken your fancy?" Kath repeated. Daniel was sure she was just saying that to make him blush harder. If she was, it was working.

"I-I... w-well, n-not particularly," Daniel stammered, avoiding looking at his friends.

"Aw, he's so cute when he gets shy," Pete joked. "C'mon, we know yer lyin'. Me and Kath have already shared who we like, and if you weren't listening, that's your fault." Daniel knew if they weren't distracted soon, he was going to die of embarrassment. Thankfully, Kath had some remorse.

"Fine. We'll get back to you," Kath sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah. For now, let's hear it from the Arbiter himself," Pete exclaimed. Daniel froze. He could see there were a few onlookers listening in on the conversation. He looked at Kath, and she looked back at him. They had to do something because Arbiter didn't look too good. If she answered, the onlookers might tell that person, and then there would be trouble. Especially because she would have to say a female's name, which means she would have to choose someone at random. She tugged at her collar slightly, but was doing a very good job of keeping herself composed. Daniel saw a bead of sweat roll down her neck. Daniel couldn't believe what he was about to do.

"Kath," he yelped suddenly. Everyone turned to face him. Daniel was shaking visibly. "I've always liked you, Kath."

"Aww," Kath smiled. She clasped his hand and gazed deep into his eyes. There were whoops from the audience and everyone was distracted, exactly as planned.

"I will see you all later, I have got to make a meeting," Thelya excused herself. She left the room. Kath and Daniel linked arms and made their way out of the room, trying to ignore all of the catcalls directed at them. They arrived at Daniel's quarters. As soon as they did, Daniel collapsed onto his bed, face first.

"That was close," he said, his voice muffled by the sheets.

"Yeah," Kath agreed. Daniel sighed and sat up on his bed.

"Sorry for getting you into this, it was the only way to –"

"I know," Kath cut him off. "Now the Arbiter owes us, big time." Daniel chuckled and nodded, his thoughts drifting to the Sangheili in question. Kath noticed the distant look on his face and smirked. "Oh, I see," she giggled playfully. "It's not _me _that you like, but there was a reason you were blushing so hard; because that person was at the table. But it wasn't me, was it?" Daniel knew she had him figured out, so he shook his head. She sat on the bed next to him. "How long have you had a crush on her?" Daniel shrugged.

"I think I always have. It's only recently I've realised it though..." Daniel trailed off, still staring into the distance. "But she's the Arbiter. I'm a mere Sergeant, and a human at that! She would never consider a relationship..." Daniel's shoulders slumped.

"You'll never know unless you try. Maybe take her on a date or something?" Kath suggested.

"But she isn't interested in going on dates, that's part of the reason why she still pretends to be a guy."

"Then don't tell her it's a date. Then the only way she could possibly know is if she sees you in the same light, yeah?" Daniel was about to grumble something when there was a knock on the door. Daniel opened it a crack and peered at who was outside.

"Oh, hello Thelya," Daniel greeted, opening the door wide while trying to hide a blush. Had she heard? Thelya showed no signs of knowing what they had been talking about.

"Well, everything worked out for the best then," Thelya grinned; something seemed to be bothering her.

"What do you mean?" Kath asked.

"Well, my secret is safe and you two have started a healthy relationship," Thelya elaborated.

"No no!" Kath cried.

"We're not –"

"He doesn't –"

"We were just –"

"Covering your back," they finished together, nodding at each other.

"Oh, thank you. I am deeply touched at your efforts," Thelya thanked them. "But are people not expectant of you now?"

"We'll have to pretend to go on dates for a while," Kath admitted. "But we'll fake a breakup eventually."

"Courting someone is almost as complicated as politics," Thelya chuckled. The humans joined in laughing.

"A bit more nerve-racking though," Daniel put in. Thelya peered at him sideways, still smiling, but pondering the deeper meaning of this. She mentally shrugged and bid them a good day. As soon as she left, Daniel face planted on the small table in front of him.

"That could have gone worse," Kath commented.

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "She could have stayed. Then I really would have been screwed."


	4. Chapter 4: Peril

Breakfast the next morning was the same as lunch the previous day. They sat around the table talking, getting to know each other better. Kath and Daniel were sitting side by side to further give the impression they were dating. Thelya started talking about something, but Daniel didn't know what, because he was concentrating more on her voice than what she was actually saying. It wasn't her real voice, but she still sounded beautiful. Melodious. Peaceful. Soothing.

"LIAR!" a voice roared, snapping him out of it immediately. A blue clad Sangheili Major stormed over to the table. He grabbed Thelya by the nape of her neck and pulled her to her feet. She knocked his hand away, then sprung back and raised her fists, ready to fight. The Major seemed to have no intention of doing the same. Instead, he turned to the gravely silent mess hall. He pointed an accusing finger at Thelya. "The Arbiter is a FEMALE! She has been pretending to be a male. She has been manipulating us!" There was a murmur of chatter, but not angry murmuring, rather more intrigued murmuring. No one actually cared that the Arbiter had been lying to them about her gender, all they cared about was 'do I have time to court her before someone else jumps in?' That was what the males were thinking, anyway. The Major seemed pleased with his reaction, obviously not catching on to the purpose of the chatter. Thelya groaned and leaned her forehead against her hand.

"Well, no reason for us to pretend to be dating anymore," Daniel murmured to Kath, who was gaping at the spectacle, but managed to nod anyway. Before anything else could happen, the ship shook violently. Anyone who was standing was immediately thrown across the room. Daniel's arms shot out, managing to catch Thelya in a bridal style grip. The Major was not so lucky. With no one really caring about him, he collided with the wall and slid to the floor, unconscious. Daniel set Thelya back on her feet, blushing slightly.

"Rtas, what is the meaning of this?" Thelya demanded through her comms.

"Arbiter, there is a Brute vessel attempting to engage us. Our shields are down to 86%," Rtas informed her. "Also, have you got any plans for tonight?" Thelya groaned into her helmet.

"Rtas, I have no intention of courting anyone right now, so just concentrate on the Brutes."

"It will be done, Arbiter." The ship shook a few more times, but this time everyone was ready and bracing themselves. After about five minutes, Rtas spoke up again. "We have crippled the ship, but it is being pulled in by the gravity of a nearby planet. It is out of range of our weapons. What is our course of action?"

"We will send in a 'Search and Destroy' team to finish them off," Thelya replied.

"Who shall I send in to lead this group?"

"I will take command myself. Forerunners know I need some time away from this ship."

"If you insist, Arbiter." Thelya motioned for the humans and some Sangheili to follow her. She specifically picked all of the few females around, but for the sake of numbers she had to pick a few males as well. Daniel and his human friends made their way to the hangar containing the human vehicles. They were met there by four humans they didn't know. The four humans noticed the looks they were given and hastily explained they were the ambassadors' guards, before urging them onto one of the Pelicans. Two of the 'guard' marines disappeared into the cockpit while the other two checked that the two Mongooses were attached securely. Surprisingly, the Arbiter and her Elites took a seat each in the Pelican also. The humans wore looks of surprise, but said nothing. She proceeded to give a briefing as the ship descended towards the planet. Pete cracked his knuckles.

"A bunch of confused and unorganised Brutes? This is going to be easy," he stated, reclining in his chair.

"Indeed, I am surprised they had the brains to use the escape pods," an Elite agreed.

"They will wish they had not," another exclaimed. They chuckled at the easy victory ahead of them.

"Let's not get cocky," Daniel suggested. He was now standing in the doorway, watching the landscape pass by while he supported himself with the overhead railing. Ironically, at that exact moment, a large ball of green plasma struck the Pelican's left wing. The engines exploded and the ship began spiralling out of control. "God dammit this is gonna be rough!" Daniel cried as he was nearly ripped out of the vehicle's back door. He barely managed to keep hold of the railing. "Right!" Daniel urged. "Go right! You're going to hit the trees!" However, without the left engines, there was no way the pilot could turn right properly and the treeline began to loom closer. The rear of the ship slammed into a tree, ripping the back off and sending it into a nosedive, still spinning around in dizzying circles. The ship was flung at the ground with great force, sending dirt spraying into the air and flinging passengers and parts of the vehicle itself in every direction. It finally rocked to a halt after colliding with a tree, smoking.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel groaned and opened his eyes. His HUD was flashing red periodically, signalling his armour, and most likely his body too, had sustained damage. He pushed himself off the ground and groaned again as pain shot through his aching body. He glanced around and located his DMR a good six metres away. He limped over and slung it onto his back, the magnetic clip taking hold of the weapon and keeping it there.

"Arbiter!" Daniel croaked. "Pete! Kath, are you there? Anyone?" Daniel coughed into his hand, then remembered he was wearing his helmet. He limped over to where one of the Mongooses had come to a rest upside-down against a tree. He grunted as he pulled it back onto its wheels, almost crushing himself in the process. He bit his lip as he made his agonisingly slow way over to where he could just make out the Pelican in the distance. He had done something to his leg on impact, and it hurt to walk. He settled for limping for now, eventually making it to the smouldering ruins of the dropship. He looked around, but there was no sign of anyone else. Then he saw it; there was a groove in the ground where someone had dragged someone else, displacing the dirt in the process. Daniel grinned, despite the condition of his body, then stopped. Three things: Why was the person dragged, not carried? Why had they left him behind? Why hadn't they covered up their tracks? This place was crawling with Covenant! The answer was simple: why would you cover your tracks against something you were a part of? Daniel's breath caught in his throat. His friends... captured. He had been standing up; near the door... he must have been flung so far that the Brutes didn't find him. He collapsed onto the trunk of a tree that had been pushed over during the Pelican's 'landing'. He let his helmet drop to the ground and rubbed his face in his hands wearily.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Thelya pushed herself up off the ground, ignoring the hands of her fellow Sangheili that were offered to her. They seemed disappointed that she didn't accept their help... Forerunners, were they still attempting to get on her good side so they could court her? She stared at the two males with rage in her eyes, then she spun to face the energy barrier surrounding them. They were still in the forest; it looked like the Brutes were using a portable energy cell... That meant there was a power source around here somewhere. If she took that out, maybe, just _maybe_, they could overpower the Brutes and escape. She glanced around, and her heart lurched when she realised Daniel wasn't there. He had saved her life more than once, and the one time he needed her help, she had failed. She hung her head in shame, her escape plan disappearing to the back of her mind as she sat back on the ground, consumed by her sorrow. A Kig-Yar marched past, shield low at its side and Carbine slung over its shoulder. One of the female Sangheili growled at it, telling it how ignorant it was for still believing in the Prophets' lies even after the Covenant fell. It just screeched at her, then moved on with its perimeter check.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~

Daniel snuck up on the unsuspecting Jackal. It screeched at something, and Daniel noticed his friends' prison cell. He almost threw up when he realised _most _of them were still there. What happened to the rest? Daniel noticed that the Jackal flinched, slightly, but still visibly, at something a Brute growled in its native language. Daniel surveyed the area; it was hard enough tracking their prints here with the constant stops for rest because of his injuries. How was he going to take down an entire Covenant Patrol Camp by himself? He quickly skirted the edge of the camp, staying hidden in the trees until he was once again behind the Jackal. He took off his helmet then grabbed the Kig-Yar by the mouth, or beak rather, and pulled it back into the bushes with him. It tried to scream, but Daniel's hand muffled it.

"Look buddy," Daniel whispered, making his voice sound as soft and caring as he could. The Jackal stopped struggling and just stared at him. "I know you don't like me, but I'll bet you don't like them either." The Jackal followed his gaze to the abusive Brute. It shook its head gently. "Please, I need your help to rescue my friends. If you do, I promise you the human race does not abuse their comrades like they do." Daniel had long since removed his hand and was waiting for an answer. Did it even speak English? It certainly seemed to understand him...

"The Elites... are not much better," the Jackal hissed, staring daggers into the one that had snapped at it earlier. Its words had stung the Kig-Yar, but this human's words soothed it. Daniel could sense it was divided between the two options. Daniel stroked its cheek gently, bringing the Kig-Yar back into reality.

"Do you have a name?" Daniel inquired.

"Yuni," it answered hesitantly. "And yes, that is a female's name." Daniel briefly wondered how it had known exactly what he had been about to ask, but shrugged it off and wondered how he could win over the small creature. She sighed heavily, then hefted her Carbine. Daniel cocked his head at her, receiving a nod in return. "I am trusting you," Yuni stated, still searching Daniel for signs he was lying. Daniel was about to thank her, but she held her finger to his lips. "Only if you promise me you will not let the Elites do what they used to again." Daniel nodded and pushed her tiny finger away.

"I will personally make sure you are taken care of properly," Daniel promised. Yuni breathed deeply, gave Daniel one last glance, then re-emerged from the undergrowth. But not before she pressed a small metal object into Daniel's gloved hand. He studied it carefully, noticing it looked kind of like an AI chip. He curiously pressed it into the small slot on his helmet, finding it a perfect fit. It slipped in just as easily as an AI chip would. He put his helmet back on. It buzzed slightly, an irritating noise. Eventually, the sound stopped and a few lines of code flashed briefly on Daniel's helmet before the words 'DATABASE ADDED' flashed in bold white letters at the bottom of his visor. Yuni started speaking to her superior in her native language, and Daniel's heart stopped when he wondered if she was going to give him up. Then he noticed the white words had disappeared, only to be replaced by new ones. This time, they read: 'I have checked the perimeter sir'. In front of him, the Brute grunted. Yuni made a small sound at the Brute. 'Sir' the words said. Suddenly, it clicked. He had just inserted some kind of outdated translator. Instead of telling him what they were saying with audio, he had subtitles, like in a movie. He almost laughed at this, before remembering he was in enemy territory.

"Sir, may I please be relieved of my duty?" Yuni asked.

"No. Continue your patrol," the Brute growled.

"But sir –" The Brute backhanded Yuni across the face, sending her flying back.

"Do it!" the Brute roared. Yuni shot him seven times in the face. When the Brute came crashing down, Yuni shot him another three times. Daniel quickly appeared at her side, DMR raised.

"Quick," Daniel urged. "Let's get my friends." Yuni nodded and motioned for him to follow her. They came up to the energy barrier.

"Wait here," Yuni ordered. Daniel sat on his haunches and waited as Yuni approached the two Kig-Yars on guard duty outside the prison.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Thelya watched as a third Kig-Yar joined the original two. They exchanged a few words in their native language before the newcomer motioned towards the bushes. Daniel crept out, rifle hanging loosely at his side. Thelya felt overjoyed at seeing her friend again, but knew that a Brute would soon follow, leading him at gunpoint. Instead, Daniel placed a hand on the newcomer's shoulder and whispered something to her, which she nodded at, then presumably relayed to the others. The barrier fell, freeing the prisoners. Thelya rushed over to Daniel and immediately surveyed him for damage, which there was quite a lot of. She clucked her tongue as she tried to remove a piece of armour to get to one of his wounds. Daniel shook slightly at her touch, and had his helmet been off, she would have seen his eyes drift shut, but then he gently pushed her away.

"L-later," he murmured. "Right now we've got to get out of here." Thelya removed her hands and nodded.

"How did you get them to help you?" she inquired, gesturing towards the Jackals. Daniel shrugged.

"I'm an ambassador now. And as an ambassador, I need to have a way with words." He motioned for his friends to follow him. "I've called for Evac already, but Rtas says he spotted some AA Wraiths not far from our position," Daniel continued as he walked. He paused to run a critical eye over the group. "We'll need to leave the injured at the LZ and some guards to protect them. Everyone else, with me."

"Who put you in charge?" a marine grumbled.

"No one, I was merely stating what the most obvious course of action was, unless you wanted to abandon the injured for themselves?" Daniel demanded, glaring at the marine. He shook his head. "What? You want them to come with us and get slaughtered by Brutes?" Daniel berated him. The marine shook his head again. "Well what? Put them out of their misery?" The marine looked shocked, and shook his head furiously. "Well? What else is there to do if not leave them at the LZ, protected, where they will be picked up as soon as Evac arrived? Come on, don't be shy."

"Daniel," Pete murmured. "I think he gets it."

"On top of some personal problems I've been experiencing," Daniel continued, "I've been through a lot of shit today, and if you think you would be capable of taking charge, go ahead, I'll go join the injured and wait for your sorry ass to complete the mission."

"Enough," Thelya snapped, stepping forward. She pushed Daniel away from the frightened marine and stared him in the eye. "What has gotten into you? Look over there." She forced Daniel to look at the three Jackals. They were bunched up in a group, weapons raised, staring at him. "You promised these Kig-Yars that you would treat them better than the Covenant? Well, you are not doing very well to prove this to them." Daniel sighed, finally averting his gaze from hers. For reasons unknown, he suddenly decided to smile and gently remove her hand from his shoulder, his face heating up slightly, almost invisibly.

"The lady's right marines. You know what I need? Morphine, a good night's rest, and a _lot _of beer. If we all make it out of this in one piece, drinks are on me!" The tension eased and the marines laughed at this, things returning to normal quickly. The injured and a few able-bodied Elites to serve as guards broke away and headed for where their Pelican had crashed; their LZ.

"You should probably go with them," Thelya suggested to Daniel, motioning towards the injured and those helping and guarding them. Daniel shook his head stubbornly.

"Like it or not, we need as many able-bodied men as we can get. I'm not going to collapse at any minute, as much as I'd like to. Besides, the Covenant managed to set up an AA defence grid in all the five minutes it took us to get here? Something tells me they were here a long time before today." Thelya sighed, seeing there was no arguing with the human. Besides, she couldn't deny his skill in combat, even if he was injured. She just hoped he didn't get himself killed...


	5. Chapter 5: Finish the Fight

Daniel parted the bushes with his hands, peering out at the plateau beyond. There sat two AA Wraiths and one regular combat Wraith, along with two ghosts, a pack of Grunts and a Brute Chieftain.

"Yuni," Daniel whispered. "Can you get too that ledge and provide us with cover fire?" Yuni nodded affirmative and rushed over to a rocky ledge and slid behind a boulder for cover. Daniel looked back at his comrades, only to find them all staring straight back at him. They expected him to lead them. "Arbiter, you are the highest ranking officer, any thoughts?" Thelya shook her head. Daniel handed her his back-up long-range radio that he kept in case his helmet's one went down, which it had during the crash, though his short-range worked fine. "As soon as those Wraiths are down, you give Rtas the all clear, got it?" Thelya opened her mouth to protest. "You had your chance to take control. You're the most important one here, you need to stay safe. Pete, hand that Needler over to Sergeant Rye." Pete tossed the weapon over to Kath. "You are going to get to that weapon crate and take that Fuel Rod Cannon." Daniel pointed to the object in question. "Your top priority is that Brute Chieftain. Corporal Heit, you and me are going to be taking out those Anti-Air Wraiths. Take this." Daniel pressed a Frag Grenade into his hand. "You only have one, so make it count. You two Kig-Yars, provide cover fire for us and take out the Wraiths' gunners so we can get close. Sergeant Weight, you take Field Marshal 'Taranee and flank that Anti-Infantry Wraith. Ultra Kenya and Sergeant Rye, the Grunts are all yours. Is everyone clear of their objectives?" He received nods. "Good. Let's go marines! Move it!"

"Grunts?" Kenya, the Sangheili Ultra, complained. "All I get is Grunts?" Then with a roar, Daniel charged, already firing pot-shots at anything that moved to cause enough distraction to allow Pete to heave a Fuel Rod Cannon out of its holster and rest it on his shoulder. He knelt on the ground to steady his aim and emptied the clip into the Brute. Immediately, all three turreters laid heavy fire on the oncoming soldiers. Yuni nailed both Ghost pilots in the head with one shot each, then turned her attention to other matters. The Brute in the first AA Wraith's turret was filled with Needle Rounds, making him look like a pink pincushion before he exploded. A few green bolts from a Plasma Pistol slammed into the second AA Wraith's turreter, eventually killing him after it let loose a cry of rage. Sergeant Weight nailed the Infantry Wraith's turreter with his Plasma Rifle, allowing 'Taranee to Leap onto the back and start smashing her fist into the vehicle. A Grunt prepared to throw a grenade at Daniel, but its head exploded courtesy of a well-aimed shot from Yuni. Daniel mounted the back of the first AA Wraith, seeing Heit do the same with the second one. Daniel grunted in pain as he slammed his fist through the metal of the Wraith. He popped the pin of the grenade with his thumb and let the lever loose. He quickly pulled his arm loose and dived off the vehicle and onto the ground. He flattened himself and held his hands over his ears. There was a roar of pain as 'Taranee slammed her Energy Sword into the Brute's back, defenceless as it was piloting the Infantry Wraith. The AA Wraith behind Daniel exploded, sending chunks of metal and searing hot plasma in every direction as the tank's core exploded. Seconds later, Heit's Wraith did the same. Daniel hauled himself to his feet and glanced over to see the massacre of the Grunts just drawing to an end.

"Rtas you are clear! Repeat, all Anti-Air Wraiths have been neutralised," Thelya yelled. A Phantom broke through the cloud layer and sped towards the Landing Zone.

"Phantom zero-niner, look out! Look out!" a human voice yelled through the comms.

"By the Forerunners..." Rtas murmured. "Evacuation team! Get out of there!"

"Phantom zero-niner, evade! Say again, EVADE!" The Phantom exploded in a brilliant flash of blue, mere dust and pebbles raining down upon the ground. There was a roar of machinery in the distance.

"Get back to the Mongooses!" Daniel cried as he scrambled back into the bushes. A humungous hulk of blue metal rose over the hills that lined the horizon. A giant spear of that blue metal slammed into the ground, pulling it forward. Another identical spear followed. They all arrived at the crash site with Weights and 'Taranee taking the two Ghosts from the battle. "Mount up! Mount up!" Daniel urged.

"Sir!" Heit protested. "There's only two Mongooses. That's four people! There's ten of us, not counting Weights and 'Taranee!" Daniel turned to the seven un-mounted marines and Sangheili before him.

"Arbiter, you, Kenya and Kath hide out in the Pelican's wreckage and wait for us to take care of that thing. Yuni, you and your Kig-Yars go with them. The rest of you, mount up!" Thelya grabbed Daniel's shoulder. Hard.

"Do you think me incapable of combat?" she demanded. Daniel shook his head.

"I only want you to stay safe," he answered honestly.

"Too bad, you are not my mother. Heit, I am taking your place." Heit nodded and retreated to the wreckage with the others.

"Sir?" Weights asked cautiously. "What's the plan? I mean, two Mongooses and two Ghosts against a Scarab? How are we going to do this?"

"Draw it out into the open, away from the others. Find a way on board, destroy the core. Any more questions?" No one answered. "Good, let's do this marines!" Daniel jumped onto one of the quad bikes and started up the engine. Pete swapped his Fuel Rod Cannon for 'Taranee's Carbine, then threw the weapon over to Thelya, who tossed him her Plasma Rifle in return. Pete followed Daniel's example and revved the engine while 'Taranee hopped on the back, wielding her Fuel Rod Cannon one-handed. Thelya took her seat behind Daniel.

"Let us ride human," she grinned. Daniel nodded and sped off, back towards where the Scarab was. Daniel pushed the vehicle to its top speed as the Scarab came into view. He swerved wildly to avoid a blast from its main cannon. Pete handed something back to 'Taranee. She studied it, and realised it was one of the 'Armour Abilities' that Spartans used back on Reach.

"I found that in the Pelican!" Pete yelled over the roar of the engine. "It should be compatible with your suit!" 'Taranee clipped it into a slot in the back of her armour, to find that it was indeed compatible. Daniel swerved again to try and avoid another blast from the Scarab, but failed miserably when the huge vehicle swept its cannon to the side, effectively covering a large area. Both Mongooses exploded simultaneously, throwing all of their passengers off and sent them tumbling across the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~

Daniel gasped and spluttered. The left side of his visor was dominated by a large network of cracks, disabling his HUD completely. His armour was shredded everywhere his jumpsuit he wore underneath showed. He struggled to push himself up onto his hands and knees. Flames and wreckage of his Mongoose surrounded him. He struggled to see as a thin stream of blood dripped down his face, luckily only going down his left eye, forcing him to close it, not that it was doing him much good anyway, seeing as his visor was so cracked. He couldn't hear anything besides the shrill ringing in his ears. Laying a metre away from him was a large bulk of yellow alloy. His vision blurred and he had to blink several times to clear it. Lying on her back, just within arm's reach, was the unconscious body of Thelya. Her silver armour was covered in soot and dirt, as well as a splatter of purpley-blue blood here and there. Daniel crawled, his movements slow and bringing wave after wave of pain. Out of the corner of his eye he sighted 'Taranee breaking out of Armour Lock somehow. It didn't even register in Daniel's mind that the Armour Abilities had been designed for Spartans and abandoned on Reach. Instead he focused on finally stretching out his arm and laying it atop the yellow object, slowly sliding it towards himself. He groaned as he leaned it on his shoulder. He held a barely-gloved hand to his head.

"Weights..." he rasped. "Weights... If you can... hear me... bring your Gha – ost over here." By some miracle, his short-ranged communications were still operational, proven to him when Weights parked his Ghost a few metres in front of the downed soldier. "'Tar... 'Taranee... stand on it... and lock your armour on my mark." Weights stepped back as he watched 'Taranee step onto the Ghost as Daniel aimed his Fuel Rod Cannon carefully. Daniel held up three fingers. Two. One. Daniel closed his fist, signalling 'Taranee to punch down on the Ghost, locking her armour, just as a great green bolt struck the vehicle. The resulting explosion sent 'Taranee flying, until she landed on the top of the Scarab's foremost right leg. She broke out of Armour Lock and scrabbled for something to hold onto. She hauled herself up onto the vehicle and disappeared inside, guns blazing. Daniel watched with his fading vision as the Scarab fell onto its haunches, alarms blearing, then exploded in a brilliant flash of light. Daniel felt around Thelya's body until he came across his radio. "This is... Sergeant... Daniel... The Scarab is down... Green light for Evac..." Then the radio skittered out of his hands as he collapsed, finally slipping into unconsciousness.


	6. Chapter 6: The Challenge

Daniel ripped the IV drips out of his arm.

"I'm fine. Battered and bruised, yes, but I'm fine," he growled stubbornly. A nurse began to protest, but Daniel pushed past her. "Thank you for healing me, you did a great job, I'm ready to go now." He disappeared down the hall, making the nurse sigh. Had she had more support staff, she would have been able to hold him back, even though what he said was true. Instead, she decided to pull out some x-rays of a Sangheili she'd taken earlier, and started making notes for the human race to possibly use in the future.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel met up with Thelya just before he entered the mess hall. She was just leaving.

"H-hey," Daniel greeted nervously. Thelya smiled weakly at him.

"Hello Daniel," she sighed. She looked down. Daniel told her this, and asked her what was wrong. "Yes, I suppose you could say I am down. You see, I have been challenged to a duel." Daniel didn't respond. "By a male." Daniel blinked, but otherwise stayed the same. "He is challenging me for the right of my hand in marriage," she explained, exasperated.

"What?" Daniel cried, maybe a bit too loudly. He quickly covered it up so she wouldn't know about his little... crush on her. "B-but you're injured!" Her arm was in a cast, there was a bandage around her waist and she placed her weight on one foot, relieving the other of the pain it would otherwise be feeling.

"Yes," Thelya agreed. "I was allowed two days to recover before it takes place. I fear one more day will not be sufficient. I am going to lose," she told him hopelessly. Daniel was crushed, but tried not to show it.

"I'm s-s-s-sorry," he stammered. Thelya thanked him for his concern, then continued on her way. He found himself hating fate for what it had done to her. He had been in almost exactly the same situations as she had, except he'd gotten off lightly. In the crash, while she had to be thrown against the different sides of the ship repeatedly, then flung out the door into a tree, then showered with rubble, he had just gone straight out the door. Then she had been beaten by the Brutes. Then, by some sick chance, the Mongoose had flipped on top of her while Daniel was thrown to the side a bit more in such a way that her body shielded him. She had taken the brunt of all the attacks, and yet she was still being challenged. It was hardly fair. Daniel ran to catch up with her, a light limp barely staining his stride. "Isn't there any way you can reason with this challenger, or the people who are organising this?" Thelya shook her head sadly.

"The Council? No, by this time tomorrow a duel will take place. Either someone will challenge my challenger for the right to challenge me, or I will have to duel with them directly. Either way, by the end of the day, I will be married to someone I barely know. And most likely, they will be some power-hungry politician," she growled with disgust clear in her voice, though the tinge of sadness was also audible. Daniel nodded solemnly and made his way to the mess hall. He found most of his newfound friends all around a table, including the ones that should be in the luxury section. It seemed as though they had all bonded through that one battle. Daniel plopped himself down at the table with them.

"I promised you lot a round of drinks, and well, here I am," he told them, grinning weakly. The others didn't even notice how fake the smile looked as they cheered and laughed, despite their numerous injuries.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Kath waited as the door to the mess hall slid open in front of her. She'd heard Daniel was up and about, despite his one-day rest. Having a Mongoose explode beneath you should really take longer to heal, and she was going to insist that he went back to the infirmary. The only occupants of the room were a group of mostly human soldiers all listening curiously to someone who was clearly drunk out of their mind.

"And we waz going ta have childs together... sure we waz going ter argue whether we wanted a little daisy or a big strong tom, but we would be happy as soons as it waz born. It would be a little hy-brid... we would name it a Humalli... or a Sangan... or a Sanghu..." Daniel pushed away his empty bottle. He was swaying uncontrollably and his eyes looked incredibly unfocused. He looked like he might have been crying a bit earlier.

"Kath!" Heit cried in despair. "He's... I don't know. We thought it was funny at first... but then he started crying and... well... he's been drinking way too much! But he won't let us stop him!" Kath rushed to her friend's side and hoisted him to his feet.

"Daniel, what the hell has gotten into you?" she shrieked.

"I waz going to give her a... a diamond ring! With Fore-walker majiggos... she was gonna luv it..."

"Daniel!" Kath gave him a shake, but he remained silent, staring at the floor.

"He said that Thelya is getting forced to marry tomorrow..." Heit explained. Kath gasped and glanced back at Daniel.

"You guys weren't really in a relationship, were you? You were just saying that to disguise him or something?" Pete inquired. Kath shook her head.

"None of this leaves this room, okay?" Kath demanded. The solemn troopers agreed silently. "Now come on Daniel, let's get you to bed." Later, she returned, and joined them again, downing a bottle of beer. They all sat in silence, pondering what had just happened and praying for their friend.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

The crowd roared as T'kel 'Wattamee entered the ring. The announcer informed the crowd that he would be challenging Thelya 'Vadam to a hand-to-hand combat duel over the right for her hand in marriage. A downcast Thelya entered the opposite side. Her friends could instantly tell she wasn't even going to try. The fight was already lost before it even started.

"The rules are simple brothers," the announcer cried. "Knock your opponent out or push them outside of the ring. Stepping out of the ring will be considered a surrender and the loser will not get the right to challenge their opponent again! No weapons allowed unless previously arranged, and the battle is not to the death! Ready!" T'kel got into a fighting stance. Thelya winced as she begrudgingly did the same. "Three!" The crowd started to quieten down as they watched from their vantage points in the makeshift stadium. "Two!"

"T'kel 'Wattamee! I challenge you to a duel over the right for Thelya's hand in marriage!" a voice boomed. The announcer stopped counting down as he gaped at the figure who owned the confident voice. Daniel stumbled over to the ring, having just recovered from his hangover.

"Daniel!" Kath protested, but she received a death glare for her troubles.

"B-but you are a human!" the announcer spluttered.

"So what?" Daniel grunted. He turned to T'kel. "You won't have a problem beating a puny human like me, will you?" he demanded, his voice cold as ice. T'kel growled.

"No, I will not. I accept your challenge human." Daniel took Thelya's place and stance, leaving the shocked Sangheili to be led away by one of her friends.

"Alright, without any further ado, let the fight begin. Ready?" the announcer asked. He noted their stances instead of expecting an answer. "Three." Daniel glared at his opponent, his head still aching slightly. "Two." T'kel stared right back. "One." Daniel let out a low growl, and T'kel did the same. "Fight!" the announcer roared, stepping out of the ring. Daniel loosened up his stance and stood normally, as if he were loitering outside a shop on the street. T'kel observed him suspiciously. Daniel checked his watch, then casually glanced back at T'kel. Finally, the Sangheili let out a roar and charged, trying to catch the human by surprise. Daniel casually stepped to the side and kicked T'kel's shin. Because of the way Sangheili feet were structured, this made his leg collapse from underneath him and make him fall to the ground. Daniel immediately leapt onto his back and grabbed the Sangheili's helmet and ripped it off. He grabbed T'kel by the nape of the neck and started bashing his face into the ground. T'kel finally recovered and flung Daniel off his back, onto the ground. Daniel's shoulder pad skittered off of his falling-apart armour. T'kel wiped away a small trickle of blood and let loose a roar. T'kel swung a fist into Daniel's face, making him regret not bringing his helmet along, even if the visor was cracked. Blood ran from his nose as he blocked T'kel's second strike. Daniel lashed out with his foot, hoping to catch the Sangheili off-guard. T'kel was expecting this however, and grabbed Daniel's foot. Daniel slid his foot out of his boot and before T'kel could react, smashed the Sangheili in the face with his sock-covered heel. He heard one of T'kel's flimsy mandibles snap. T'kel dropped the boot and lunged at Daniel. Daniel caught the boot and bashed T'kel in the face with it, allowing him the opportunity to stand up.

"Yes!" Kath cried leaping up for a moment before sitting back down awkwardly. T'kel fell to his knees, then grabbed Daniel's feet and pulled them from underneath the human. Daniel collapsed onto the ground, and T'kel pinned him down with his superior body weight and started hammering the human's face with his fists. Daniel spat in the Sangheili's eye, making him instinctively reach up to wipe it, leaving Daniel free to crack his fist into his jaw. He then grabbed the Sangheili's face and shoved it aside, the rest of his body following. Daniel scrambled to his feet and kicked T'kel in the stomach. T'kel grabbed his leg again, but Daniel just wriggled out of his sock and stomped his heel into T'kel's face. T'kel lashed out with his hoof, but Daniel rolled out of the way, picking up T'kel's helmet as he went. He put his fist in the helmet, transforming it into some odd-looking glove. Daniel then smashed his armoured hand into T'kel's face as he struggled onto his knees. T'kel did a semi-back flip from the force of the blow, landing on his back, panting as he stared at the ceiling. Daniel jumped, and slammed his elbow into T'kel's face as he landed. A sickening _crack _echoed through the room, and T'kel was silent. His body didn't move apart from the rugged rise and fall of his chest as he continued to breath. The announcer looked from T'kel's body to Daniel.

"I-it appears we have a winner," he announced. Kath cheered in the background, starting of a chain until the whole room was roaring with applause. "You may now duel Thelya 'Vadam for her hand in marriage."

"I surrender!" Daniel called out, clearly so everyone could hear him. The room went silent again. "I forfeit. Thelya wins, and thus may marry whoever she wants. Good day." Daniel stumbled out of the room, collapsing onto the door and falling to the floor. He straightened up, somehow on his feet again, and continued limping away with as much dignity as he could manage. Thelya just stared after him, her expression unreadable, apart from the vast amount of surprise.


	7. Chapter 7: Confessions

**Two days later**

No one else had challenged Thelya in the past two days, time enough for her to recover. No one knew quite what to think about the fight. Some thought the fighting style was unique, while some marvelled at the human's ingenuity, such as using armour to fight. Some were disgusted, saying the human had cheated, even though the rules said nothing against anything Daniel had done that day. That was all in the past though, seeing as the Arbiter had healed and no one dared challenge her when she was at the peak of her ability. Daniel had been amused to find Thelya had dragged the Master Chief into this, having met the Spartan a day ago in the hallway. Daniel and Cortana were now having regular discussions about the Arbiter so Daniel didn't have to ask her out directly.

"Well actually, I talked to her yesterday," Cortana told him.

"Really? About what?" Daniel asked frantically.

"Private things," Cortana snapped. She pondered something for a bit. "And I think the best course of action would be to address her directly and just tell her how you feel."

"I can't do that!" Daniel protested, paling at the thought. Cortana thought deeply for a minute.

"Put me in your helmet and I'll guide you," she suggested. Daniel gulped and nodded, slipping her chip in his helmet, glancing at Master Chief, who gave him an indifferent nod. Daniel put his helmet on. He crept out of his room and jumped when someone said his name. He whirled around only to see Kath jogging over to him.

"Hey Daniel, Thelya was looking for you," Kath told him. "She said Cor –"

"Thank you Kath, we were just heading over to her now," Cortana told her. Kath gave her an 'oh' look before silently walking away. "Come along Daniel, let's get things sorted out between you and the Arbiter," Cortana said cheerily. Daniel nodded. "You'll find her in her quarters. Here, I'll mark the location on your HUD." A second later, a yellow marker appeared on Daniel's now-repaired visor as promised. Daniel hesitated, and after some urging from Cortana, he knocked on the door. Immediately, as if she was expecting him, Thelya opened the door.

"Hello Daniel," Thelya greeted him.

"Say hello," Cortana prompted him quietly, so only he could hear.

"H-hi," Daniel stammered, twiddling his thumbs nervously. Thelya motioned for him to come in. He obliged and watched as Thelya sat down at a table with two chairs.

"Sit down," Cortana urged him. Daniel gulped and did so.

"So Daniel, what brings you here?" Thelya inquired.

"I-I..." Daniel couldn't get the words out. He helplessly waited for Cortana to say something.

"Tell her you want to have sex," Cortana advised him.

"WHAT?" Daniel shrieked shrilly, leaping to his feet and throwing his helmet on the table. Thelya glanced at him with worry in her eyes. Cortana projected herself onto the table.

"Explain," Thelya commanded, worry turning to confusion and suspicion. Daniel's mind raced as he tried to come up with an excuse.

"Tell her the truth," Cortana purred, smiling contentedly. Daniel looked like a cornered animal by now. He knew what Cortana had done. She had forced him into a situation where the only way out was to tell Thelya the whole story.

"The truth?" Thelya demanded.

"Cort-tana w-was here t-to give me adv-v-vice." Daniel was shaking as he said those words. Thelya peered at him. "Advice o-on h-how to... um, I..."

"Tell her how you feel," Cortana suggested soothingly. Thelya glanced from the AI to Daniel, still looking bewildered and her eyes demanding answers.

"Thelya," Daniel started again. "Ever since I met you, you've been nothing but kind to me. And ever since we escaped the Halo, there's been a... feeling I can't ignore." Thelya cocked her head, now curious instead of confused and suspicious. "E-even though we are different species, I still can't ignore the fact that I... I..." Daniel choked on his words. Thelya pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him instantly.

"Shh. I think I already know," she told him. Her face came closer to his, and Daniel couldn't believe what was about to happen. Her mandibles replaced her finger on his lips. Daniel's eyes slid shut as he practically collapsed into Thelya's embrace. He let his arms slide around her waist and didn't let go, even when the kiss was broken. He rested his chin on her shoulder. "I love you too," she whispered in his ear. He smiled, keeping his eyes closed. He suddenly felt exhausted, as if he had run five marathons and he felt dizzier than the time he got punched in the unprotected face by a Brute Chieftain on Delta Halo. It was a good, light kind of dizziness though. Finally, they begrudgingly pulled away from each other and stared at Cortana, who was looking incredibly pleased with herself.

"I don't know whether I want to strangle you or hug you," Daniel confessed.

"We'll never know, will we?" Cortana smirked, indicating towards her holographic body. "You do realise I've spent the past two days being shipped between you two, right? Both of you were asking for advice on how to express your love to the other. I finally had enough of it and arranged this meeting." Daniel slid an arm around Thelya's waist, blushing as he wondered if she would be mad at him for it.

"Thank you," he murmured. Then he turned to Thelya, cracking a relieved grin. "Why were you so nervous? You're the Arbiter, most fierce warrior the Sangheili have to offer, and you're afraid to tell me how you feel?"

"Yes," Thelya admitted. "It does not matter how many Parasites we slay, how many enemies we defeat, how many times we face death, there is something about love that makes our hearts race like they never have before." Thelya glanced at Daniel, who was entranced by her words. "And now my heart belongs to you."

"Oh get a room," Cortana groaned, rolling her eyes.

"I have one, and you are in it," Thelya pointed out, jabbing a finger at her.

"Good point," Cortana agreed. "Master Chief, I need Evac, ASAP, before they start making love or something." Daniel and Thelya blushed, refusing to meet the other's eye. "Oh come on Daniel, what happened to those little hybrids?" Cortana teased. The door opened and Master Chief silently took Cortana away. Thelya gave Daniel a questioning look.

"I was drunk," he mumbled, blushing harder. He thanked god that _she _of all people hadn't heard about that, though he doubted it would be long before she started asking around. After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Thelya asked Daniel what he wanted to do. "Well... lunch together?" he suggested. Thelya grinned.

"Romantic," she commented teasingly. Daniel blushed slightly, still unable to believe this was real. She gently grasped his hand and they walked towards the mess hall.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"So, Sangheilios tomorrow. You excited?" Kath inquired, unable to wipe the smile off her face as she watched the couple that was sitting across from her.

"Yeah," Daniel told her. "It's going to be amazing. I heard it's summer there at the moment. It's supposed to be kinda like Tahiti. During the day anyway."

"During the day? What, is night-time icy cold or something?" Kath inquired. Daniel nodded. Pete was reclining next to Kath, hands laced behind his head, relaxing.

"I'm getting paid to live in a tropical paradise? Where's the catch?" he asked.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a 'tropical paradise' Pete. More like a singe-your-ass-hair-off paradise," Daniel scoffed, then blushed as he realised Thelya might not have appreciated his choice of words.

"Better guard your ass then human," Thelya chuckled, winking at him, making him blush harder. Not only was she not mad, she found it amusing. Everyone laughed at Daniel's red face, making him feel even more self-conscious, and thus making him blush to the point where he was going to explode. "You have no idea how cute you are when you get all shy," Thelya giggled. Kath and Pete stared at her with a mixture of shock, confusion, amusement and bemusement. "What?" Thelya demanded. "I am allowed to complement my friend-boy." The two humans burst out laughing, and Daniel couldn't help but join in, despite his fear of Thelya hating him for it. "What?" she demanded again.

"It's... _boyfriend_," Kath gasped between laughter. "My god! You have no idea how odd you sound when you say that!"

"Odd?" Thelya bristled indignantly. This just made them laugh anew at her attempt to puff out her chest and look menacing. She snorted and shook her head, giving up on preserving her dignity. Instead she leaned her head on Daniel's shoulder, shifting her posture slightly so she didn't injure her neck while doing so. Even though female Sangheili were shorter than their male counterparts, she was still considerably taller than Daniel, and most other humans. Daniel slid his hand around her waist and pulled her a bit closer. She accepted his embrace and put her arms loosely around his neck so her arm was draped across his chest. "Mm," Thelya mumbled. "Don't move; this is comfortable." Surprising everyone, another Sangheili sat down with them. The surprising part was though, that the Sangheili was none other than T'kel himself.

"Ah yes, I see you've found out what happens when you forfeit," he commented.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked, sitting up straighter.

"The Arbiter did not invoke 'Yaranar's law?" T'kel inquired, seeming to be surprised. When he saw Daniel had no idea what he was talking about, he began to explain. "'Yaranar's law states that if one like you is only trying to prevent the challenged from marrying someone, and forfeits, then that counts as a loss. That means the winner can decide to marry the loser if he or she wishes. This law is used when one wants another to live a long and miserable life without love or family, so they chase off everyone who wants to marry a certain person. Then that certain person can marry the one who was doing the chasing-off, thus foiling the plans for loneliness and isolation." T'kel seemed to keep a cheery exterior as he said this, showing no signs of hostility towards Daniel. "So, if not 'Yaranar's law, then why did you marry?"

"We're not married," Daniel told him.

"That is a very intimate position for two that are mere friends."

"We're dating."

"Dating?"

"Courting," Daniel corrected himself. "I'm courting her."

"You love her?" T'kel sounded astonished. "But you are human. She is Sangheili."

"So? I'm allowed," Daniel growled defensively, clutching Thelya tighter.

"Well, this is brilliant!" T'kel claimed brightly, clapping his hands together. "This will greatly improve our diplomatic relations, especially if you two do end up getting married!" T'kel seemed very excited, especially for someone who was talking to a guy who kicked his ass in a duel for a girl. "If you do," T'kel said, turning a bit more serious. "I will personally perform the ritual myself. My rank as a Zealot allows me to do things of such high honour," he said proudly, tapping his golden-orange armour. Daniel couldn't take it anymore.

"You seem happy," he observed. "I thought you would have hated me for what I did to you a couple of days ago." T'kel grinned at this.

"Maria said I should get to know you guys better," was his answer.

"Maria? The Diplomat? Why are you listening to her?" Everyone at the table was curious now. T'kel's grin widened.

"Because I am in a sexual relationship with her." Well, that explained a lot. "This is the future of the human race," he continued, reclining. "Pretty soon, every single one of you will fall for a Sangheili. Not many other options are there? I think you will find it a lot easier to fit into society when you are married to a Sangheili. It will make life more comfortable."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Daniel asked sarcastically. Both Sangheili leaned forward eagerly.

"So you will marry her?" T'kel asked. Daniel noted the expression on Thelya's face, and realised how badly she wanted this, even if she wasn't ready to ask. Daniel smiled and took her hand in his.

"Of course I will." Thelya squealed with joy and hugged him tightly. Daniel laughed and hugged her back. "You could have said something sooner."

"We have only been... 'dating' for five minutes," Thelya reminded him. "And it might have been odd if I had approached you one day and asked you to marry me out of the green." Daniel almost corrected her mix-up of green and blue, but didn't want to ruin the moment. Instead, he just hugged her back.

"Tomorrow we will be landing on Sangheilios," T'kel interrupted them. "We will have the ceremony there."


	8. Chapter 8: Sangheilios

"... And on this day, I shall finish by reminding these two fine warriors of the bond they are now linked together by. Your honour will hold you to your wedded for the rest of your days. Daniel Masters, do you agree to lay down your life, heart and sword, to bring honour to her and defend said honour, for this woman?"

"I do," Daniel said, gazing deeply into Thelya's eyes. Her polished silver armour shone brightly in the harsh light of Sangheilios' trio of suns, making her look like a star. He was currently wearing his ODST armour, which unfortunately was primarily black, absorbing much heat despite the shaded area he was standing in. It was Sangheili tradition for warriors to wear their combat armour when getting married, to show off that they were warriors and had fought many battles to their mate and audience.

"And Thelya 'Vadam, do you agree to lay down your life, heart and sword, to care for any children the Forerunners bless you with, for this man?"

"I do," Thelya replied, her eyes not leaving his for a second, even though she could not see through his visor, she knew his face well enough to know where the twin orbs were located.

"Then I am honoured to accept this couple into the 'Vadam Keep. The bond is formed. May your legacy live on to the Great Journey and onwards," T'kel finished, bowing his head respectfully. The odd hybrid-wedding concluded with a round of applause from the various people in the crowd. Daniel blushed, not being used to this amount of attention and he was thankful of his helmet. There was to be a feast in their honour, then they would engage in... well... Daniel blushed harder when he thought of what they were to do to complete the marriage.

"W-we do get to do this... m-m-'mating ritual' thing in private... right?" Daniel asked uncertainly. Thelya giggled and slid his helmet off his head.

"Of course. It would be incredibly odd to have this lot watching us engaging in sexual acts, would it not?" Daniel nodded his head shyly, looking more than a little flustered. Thelya gave him a quick peck on the cheek then pushed his helmet into his hands. "Now come, we do not want to be late for our own feast, do we?" Daniel smiled at her yellow, reptilian eyes, which were glittering with joy. She blinked slowly at him, also smiling as much as her mandibles would allow. Daniel shifted his helmet so he was holding it under one arm and used his unoccupied hand to clasp Thelya's. Together they walked over to the long table where family and friends were just starting to take their seats.

"You're one lucky woman," Yuni told Thelya dreamily. She was picking at her food absent-mindedly; she was staring into the distance without actually seeing. "I hope I find a mate as kind and gentle as Daniel..." Daniel patted her hand reassuringly.

"Thanks, I'm sure you will," he murmured to her encouragingly.

"Though perhaps they do not _have _to be quite so gentle... I'm sure I could fall for someone a bit more rugged..." she continued, almost as if she hadn't heard him.

"Well, you're lookin' in the right place," Pete smirked. Yuni suddenly realised that to her, she was staring out into space, but to everyone else, she was staring straight at Pete's chest. She blushed lightly and quickly shoved a forkful of food into her beak. A few nearby party-dwellers laughed at this before returning to their conversations. Daniel smiled and leaned his head on Thelya's shoulder, observing the going-ons around him. Everyone here seemed happy and relaxed, nothing like the war. He was amazed at how well humans and Sangheili were getting along. The UNSC had chosen their representatives well. He felt an arm slip around his waist and relaxed into the embrace. He was even brave enough to return the gesture loosely, making Thelya smile at him and chuckle slightly. Daniel stroked her cheek, then moved his fingers to trace her jaw line, or mandible line, or whatever. Thelya crooned and unconsciously pushed her head into his touch, hoping for more. Daniel suddenly turned red as he realised there were more than a few smirks being directed at him, and not all of them from humans. Thelya's face also turned slightly purple as she looked down in embarrassment.

"Save the mating for your mating chambers or whatever," Pete advised them, rolling his eyes.

"Oh dear," T'kel murmured in mock horror. "It appears Katharine is flirting with a Sangheili." He then burst out laughing. "I told you!" he exclaimed. "I told you you would all fall for our kind sooner or later!"

"Oh come on," a nearby Sangheili scolded him. "Katharine is probably just engaging in a casual sexual relationship. We all have desires that need to be sated. You however, seem to be incredibly involved in this 'Maria'." This instantly shut T'kel up. He snorted to cover up his embarrassment, then returned to his food. Daniel glanced over to where Kate was sitting and wondered if she actually was. If so, humanity didn't have much hope in rebuilding if everyone was going to instantly fall in love with Sangheili. Or it could just be sex, like the Sangheili had said before. Who knows, maybe they were just good friends. Kate dropped her cup and kissed the Sangheili on the cheek. _Drunk? _Daniel tried to reassure himself, failing. Thelya caught him looking at the couple and grinned.

"Do not worry about it. You and your friends are surrounded by Sangheili, and very little humans, so if those select few are not your type, it is only natural to turn to our kind. Besides, right now is when Sangheili, er, our pheromones get a bit stronger to encourage mating. So you can imagine your friends shall be affected a bit." Daniel nodded.

"Okay, what about her? Does the same apply?" he asked, pointing at Yuni.

"Yes. But she is also just plain drunk," Thelya snorted. Daniel made to refill his cup, but he felt Thelya's hand stop him. "And you should probably stop before you end up the same. We would not want your 'hybrids' to come back, would we?" Daniel blushed and instead poured some water into his cup. He wondered just how long people would remind him of his drunk talk. He actually stopped to wonder who had even thought to bring alcohol along in the first place. He had also heard talk of a brewery being set up soon. It was odd what the human race decided would be vital to the survival of their ambassadors, but then again, getting drunk is a great boredom buster, and he supposed a good drink was exactly the sort of thing you needed after a long day of politics. He listened to Yuni babble things in her native language, but he was sure he heard the word 'Pete' come up more than once.

"Well, if everyone here is going to have sex with aliens, at least we know the alliance isn't going to be too hard," Daniel chuckled.

"Indeed," Thelya agreed. She shuffled anxiously, staring up at the twin moons, which had almost reached their peak. "Soon, the celebrations will draw to a close and the mating ritual will commence. Are you ready?" Thelya inquired. Daniel gulped, but nodded.

"As long as you're by my side... which it will be impossible for you not to be, considering the task in question."

"Then we will officially have completed our marriage... you seem nervous," Thelya commented, a sly grin spreading across her mandibles. Daniel took a moment to marvel at how well he could read Sangheili facial expressions now before answering.

"Kinda. I mean, it's hard not to be. I'm getting married and I'm about to have sex with my wife for the first time. Even if you weren't a different species it would be nerve-wracking," Daniel confessed. Thelya chuckled and pulled him closer. She rubbed his shoulder gently and yawned. Slowly, the guests began departing, giving their goodbyes and good will until it was just them left.

"And the celebrations draw to a close," Thelya announced. "Come, let us go inside." They walked together, Thelya's arm still around Daniel, towards their home. It was temporary, so it was apparently 'small', yet it reminded Daniel of a manor. It was like a luxury holiday home unlike anything Daniel had seen since before the war started. They made their way to the bedroom where Daniel took off his armour, leaving just the black jumpsuit clinging to his skin. Thelya was likewise dressed, having also removed her armour. "Have you ever done this before?" she asked.

"I've had one or two booty calls," Daniel chuckled, then he noticed the blank expression on her face. "Er... yes, but never with anyone I actually love," he elaborated. Thelya nodded thoughtfully.

"Well then, at least you will not be completely clueless like the last male I mated with. That was a long time ago, before I was Arbiter," Thelya added, smiling at the expression on Daniel's face. "Before I joined the military in fact," she frowned, a ponderous look on her face. "Best not to linger on these things. Shall we get to it?" Daniel nodded, very nervous indeed.

Thelya gently gripped his chin, bringing his face to hers until her mandibles met his lips. Daniel slipped his arms around her and parted his lips, allowing his tongue to slip out and into her mouth. She was surprised at this gesture, but it felt... right. She returned by slipping her own reptilian tongue into his mouth, exploring every inch of it. He moaned slightly, then blushed. Thelya pulled away and stared deeply into his eyes. "Are you ready?" she inquired. Daniel nodded, looking down to escape those eyes. He hoped Thelya wouldn't judge him too harshly when she saw him naked... Thelya's hands ran down his hips, eventually reaching the bottom of his top, which she removed slowly. She hooked a finger in his pants and slowly removed those. That just left his underwear. She removed these and tossed them aside, leaving him completely naked, shivering slightly. Thelya studied his body quickly. Muscly and well-kept, if not a little bit hairy. She pulled her shirt off, exposing her chest to him. Daniel had no idea why, but for some reason he was half-expecting to see breasts, but Thelya was as flat-chested as he was. Thelya grinned and picked Daniel up bridal style, making him yelp in surprise. She carried him over to the bed before setting him down and climbing in herself. They embraced for a moment before taking on the task at hand.


	9. Author's Note

**Sorry guys, this is not a chapter. Instead, I have an important question to ask you. I received a couple of reviews about the last chapter wondering if there was going to be M rated content (*hint hint* sex *hint hint*. I honestly wasn't planning on it, but if you guys want me to, I will. So please review and tell me what you think. If I get enough positive responses, I'll see what I can cook up :)**

**Thank you for your patience.**

**CrazyBirdMan59**


	10. Chapter 9: The Mating Ritual

**A/N: Well, I was actually quite surprised about the amount of responses I got and how fast I got them, so first of all I would like to thank all of you who are reading this. Secondly, it became incredibly obvious to me that I need to bump up the rating and give you this chapter. So sorry if I suck at porn, but here ya go.**

**If you are offended by this, skip to the next chapter.**

Thelya and Daniel gently pulled away from the embrace. They stood there for a moment, neither talking nor moving.

"Are you going to...?" Thelya inquired.

"W-well, I th-thought that would ruin your dignity or something," Daniel replied, blushing.

"I am not made of glass, human." Daniel wandered over to the bed and sat down. Thelya cocked her head at him. "What are you doing?" she inquired curiously.

"Wh-what you wanted me to!" Thelya shook her head, smiling.

"Lay down," she commanded, striding over to him.

"What?" Thelya gave him a gentle push on the shoulder, making him fall onto the bed, lying on his back.

"Lay down," she giggled. Daniel was now situated on his back, his rock-hard shaft standing tall like a flagpole. She brushed it softly, then straddled his waist and grinned at him. She bent down and placed her mandibles on his lips, quick to let her tongue slide inside his mouth. Daniel moaned into her mouth as he felt her arms slip around his back. He felt something wet run down his thigh. Realisation slowly dawned on him, making him smirk, as much as one could smirk when they were tongue-wrestling a Sangheili. Okay, he smirked in his mind.

Thelya removed her mouth from his, her eyes fluttering open. She reached behind her and grabbed his member, giving it a quick stroke to make sure it would stay hard. She rubbed it across her wet clit and moaned softly, her face turning slightly purple. She pushed the head of his cock in, parting her folds for the first time in what felt like years. Maybe it was. She slowly pushed her hips back until she felt herself touching the base of his penis. She now had his entire length. She lowered her body so she was lying atop him, panting and slipping her arms around him once again as she did so. Daniel had his eyes shut in ecstasy and concentration as he tried not to cum from the sheer tightness of her love tunnel. He did have enough of his mind left to reach his arms around her back, hugging her to his chest.

Thelya pulled him out of her slowly, using his lower back as leverage to pull herself forwards until only the head remained in her. She eased herself back down, swallowing him up again. Daniel gasped, and his grip tightened. Thelya drew him out again, still going excruciatingly slow. Daniel tensed as she finally began to pick up the pace. A bead of sweat rolled down here neck as she rose off him and slammed herself back down, occasionally moaning in rapture. She picked up a quick rhythm, riding him mercilessly. Daniel arched his back and cried out when he felt her digging her claws into his back as the pleasure became more intense. After the initial hiss of pain, he felt an incredible sense of pleasure from it, and his actions had only made it easier for Thelya to hammer him harder.

She pulled him in for another tongue-filled kiss as she bounced atop him, but lost the brainpower for that and eventually settled for burying her face in his neck. She could feel the telltale feeling of orgasm building, and the way Daniel was bucking his hips every now and again told her he too, was close. Suddenly, Daniel felt her pussy contract around him, strangling his dick as it tried to milk him for his cum. Thelya muffled her scream of joy by sinking her teeth into the flesh between Daniel's neck and shoulder blade. The pain once again gave way to pleasure as he shot his load into her. He shot his seed deep into her womb, hugging her tightly as they rode out the waves of pleasure.

Thelya pulled her head up, and was quite shocked to find she had left a perfect imprint of her teeth on his skin. He didn't seem to mind however. She winced as she removed her talons from his back. Man, she had fucked him hard. Daniel hung loosely in her arms, babbling something unintelligible. She did recognise the words 'love' and 'you' among the mindless sounds, making her smile. She shuddered as she pulled him out of her. She snuggled up behind her lover in a position humans would call 'spooning' and promptly fell asleep.

**A/N (Again): So, how was it? Want more? Less? Want to burn me at the stake? Let me know!**


	11. Chapter 10: Secrets and Betrayals

**A/N: I don't know if these Author's Notes are annoying you, but to me it seemed as though I was ignoring you guys before, which is not the case! So if they are annoying, please tell me. But I just wanted to say I would never ignore you guys and I love every single review I read, so thank you so much for your support! I got a review from a guest asking if I could make Thelya get pregnant. Now, this wasn't going to be part of the plan, I thought it would be more realistic if they were too biologically different to reproduce, and would adopt a child later. But as you know, I aim to please as well as to express my story, so if this is something you would like to see, please say so. Sorry for the long A/N, to make it up to you, this is a long chapter. Albeit, an emotional one (not as emotional as the next one though)...**

"It is disgusting. What is more, their marriage has only served to strengthen diplomatic relations between our race and the humans. The Arbiter is respected, and if she can _marry _a human, just putting up with their species will not be a problem for the rest of our kind. We have to put a stop to this! Before it is too late!" The golden armoured Sangheili waved a hand at his right hand man dismissively.

"Patience Dar'ro. As we speak, assassins are being sent to deal with them. They will leave evidence behind that it was us that did the crime. The humans will become enraged and seek out to destroy us. That will spark another war and the humans will be crushed." The gold-clad Elite clenched his fist as he said this to emphasise the point. He thin grinned slyly. "Now come, I have sent for some... entertainment while we wait." Dar'ro's eyes lit up and what resembled a smile spread across his mandibles.

"Young ones?"

"Barely past maturity," Goldie confirmed. A few minutes later, two young females entered the room, ready to present tonight's 'entertainment'.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"For the last, god-damned time, I was _talking _to him. God, not everyone here is obsessed with fucking aliens," Kath snapped. Pete laughed at her.

"Sure Kathy. When's the wedding? Am I invited?"

"Pete, I swear. If you don't shut up about your little fantasies, I'll shoot you in the foot."

"Alright Buttercup. I'll leave you and your boyfriend alone." Pete danced away back inside, leaving Kath to groan in annoyance.

"He's a real jerk sometimes," she complained.

"You did kiss me," Lanai pointed out.

"Yeah, definitely not gonna be my boyfriend _now_." Lanai shrugged and leaned over the balcony railing, gazing at the horizon.

"So, you wished to speak to me? Or did you just bring me out here at suns' rise to complain about Peter?"

"Actually, I was going to apologise for last night. I had a little too much to drink – meaning I was intoxicated," she added, knowing Sangheili were not very good with human expressions yet.

"It is fine. It was actually a little bit enjoyable," Lanai told her with a wink.

"What?" Kath smirked. "You don't find it offensive that a _vile ape _shared an intimate moment?" Kath teased.

"I would not call you vile Katherine. And I believe Jiralhanae share more resemblance to apes than humans do."

"That's good to know." Kath let silence fall over them for a bit, pondering how wise the crazy idea in her head was. "You haven't been kissed before, have you?"

"No," Lanai answered flatly. Kath leaned on him and put an arm around his shoulders.

"I bet no one's ever done this before either."

"No," Lanai said again, shuffling slightly. Kath noticed his fingers twitch a little bit. She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. He shivered slightly and his face started to turn a light shade of purple.

"Are you enjoying it?" she whispered in his ear. Lanai stood up quickly and coughed nervously.

"I, uh... have some business to attend to if we are done here?" Lanai told her, his voice wavering. Kath giggled at the effect she was having on the big, strong alien. "Wait, what is that?" Kath stood up and walked to his side. They were on a hill overlooking the area where they'd had the party last night. Kath scanned the area, trying to find what the alien was talking about.

"I don't – oh god!" Kath shoved Lanai aside and ran inside. "Hey! Wake up! We have intruders!" Kath yelled as she ran through the building where the rest of the lower-class humans were staying. She grabbed an Assault Rifle from a weapons crate and sprinted outside. Two Sangheili were creeping along in the shadows of Thelya's temporary home. "STOP!" Kath ordered. One of them whirled around and immediately started blasting at her with dual Plasma Rifles. The other quickly made off, carrying his Beam Rifle carefully as he broke into the building.

Kath dived behind the table they had used for feasting the previous night and flipped it over to use as a shield. She peeked over the top and swore as she saw two more Sangheili join the remaining first one. Kath poked her Assault Rifle over the top and fired blindly so as not to expose her body. She heard the patter of feet going around her left side. She had to time this correctly. She slid her Magnum out of its holster as she continued to empty her clip blindly. A green-armoured hoof appeared next to her. She stopped firing her Assault Rifle and shot the hoof with her Magnum, making the shields flare and the owner curse and jump back. Kath rolled out of cover and let loose what was left in her Assault Rifle at the green Sangheili. She turned to see two Plasma Rifles in her face. Then there was a _BANG _and the guns fell away from her face. The last Sangheili fled to go find the first one, leaving Kath to nod gratefully at Pete, who was standing on the hill waving a Sniper Rifle around victoriously. "Hell of a shot Sergeant," Kath commented over the comms.

"Aye lass," Pete chuckled. "I'll meet ya in a sec, just gotta go get a gun better suited for close quarters." Kath nodded again.

"Understood. I'll go in and warn Daniel. Over and out." Kath ran inside, slapping in a fresh clip as she did so. Kath burst into the bedroom just in time to see the Sangheili with the Beam Rifle fire three shots into the two forms inside the bed. "No!" Kath shrieked. She hammered the Sangheili with gunfire until it dropped to the ground, his overheated Beam Rifle useless in that situation. Then Kath heard eight shots from a DMR behind her. She turned just in time to see the final Sangheili fall and drown in its own blood. "Pete..." she murmured. "We're too late..."

"Pete?" a familiar voice asked incredulously. "Kath, exactly how much did you drink last night?" Kath looked up. She couldn't believe her eyes. Daniel stood with his DMR slung over his shoulder dressed in just his jumpsuit. Kath threw the covers off the bed and saw a bunch of pillows, two of them with burnt, black holes in them.

"But... how?" she stammered. Daniel grinned at her.

"You really think that I would be able to get any sleep while you're out there exchanging ammunition? Guns do make incredibly loud noises you know." Kath laughed, relieved.

"But where's –" There was a loud thump and a yellow-armoured Sangheili slid across the floor in-between them.

"I found this coward attempting to flee the scene," Thelya growled. The Elite on the floor tried to scramble to his feet, but Thelya slammed her hoof into his back. "Stay down scum," she commanded.

"Remind me never to try and assassinate you guys," Pete joked as he entered the room, holding a Shotgun. "Looks like I missed the party."

"No, you were present at last night's celebrations," Thelya informed him. "Alcohol may be affecting your memory." Pete gave her a blank look.

"Uh..." Thelya chuckled softly.

"I was only messing with you Pete."

"Oh. Ha ha, aren't you just the funniest Sangheili in the galaxy?" Pete grumbled, before excusing himself, saying he was going to perform a perimeter check. Daniel plopped himself on the sofa that took up the majority of the room they were in.

"So, how's your boyfriend?" he inquired, gazing at Kath. She glared at him, then stormed out the building without another word, leaving Daniel to stare after her, shocked and confused. "What did I say?" he asked Thelya. She shrugged and hoisted the captured Sangheili to his feet.

"I am sure the high council will enjoy interrogating this one," she told Daniel, before dragging the prisoner outside. "I will return soon," she called over her shoulder, receiving a nod from Daniel.

He wandered around the house, having been... occupied the previous night. After thoroughly studying the entire place, he returned to the bedroom to change into his armour. He found his bag and strapped on his armour, accidently knocking Thelya's bag in the process. Some of the contents spilled out, so Daniel hurriedly set to carefully packing them away again, until he found something odd. It was a small portable holo-panel, much like Daniel's own personal data pad. He felt a tiny bit guilty as it flickered to life in his hands, but his curiosity got the better of him. He groaned at his own stupidity when Sangheili symbols flashed across the screen. He turned the thing over in his hands, looking for an off switch when suddenly, the symbols shifted and turned themselves into English letters. Two white words flashed at the bottom of his visor.

'TRANSLATION COMPLETE'. He grinned as he remembered Yuni's translator chip, then frowned as he remembered what he was attempting to read. His finger brushed against the off switch, and he considered just turning it off, but shook the thoughts away. It wasn't as if Thelya would be keeping secrets from him. He read through all the tabs on the side of the screen, finding one labelled 'COMMUNICATIONS'. He touched that and patiently waited for the page to be translated. There were several files, all dated. All recent. He realised these were much like Emails, and again thought about turning it off, but knew he had gone too far to turn back. He opened the earliest one.

_High Council Arbiter  
The council has made their decision, Arbiter. As much as we will not openly admit it, we need this alliance as much as they do. To ensure the safety of the treaty, we have decided a symbolic unification is in order. To be blunt; Arbiter, you must find a human mate. Many Sangheili are unsettled about this treaty and wish to destroy the humans, but if they see you, a Sangheili of high honour and respected by all, married to a human, they will follow your example and peace will be made easy. Think well before answering Arbiter. Remember, this is not a question, it is a command._

_Arbiter High Council  
I see the logic in your decision. As much as I loathe the idea of having a human mate, I will not let you down. I will do it for the good of our people. I will inform you when I have created a list of possible candidates._

_Arbiter High Council  
I have created a list of candidates. It would be a great advantage if you could have somebody watch over the following humans and inform me of their validity as a mate:  
Sergeant Peter Gerth  
Lieutenant Frederick Gornz  
Ambassador Charles Fritz  
Sergeant Daniel Masters  
Captain Jon Quarter  
Sergeant Zack Weights  
Also, I am concerned to have found the Spartan, 117, on board with his AI. Neither I nor Shipmaster Rtas were informed of this. I wish to know the meaning of this at once. Is this your doing High Council?_

Daniel's heart lurched when he read his name. _A-a-am I just an... objective?_ Daniel asked himself. _No. It can't be... she'll mention something later. _Needless to say, he continued reading.

_High Council Arbiter  
At your request, we have units shadowing the aforementioned humans. They will report back to you with any new developments at the end of each day. Hasten your pace Arbiter, you do not have long. You must have chosen a mate by the time you reach Sangheilios._

_Arbiter High Council  
After careful consideration, I have decided on a mate. Sergeant Daniel Masters seems to have fallen for me. One of your units reported him drinking alcohol heavily after learning of the challenge – do not fear, it has been dealt with and I am free to choose my own mate again. In fact, it was Sergeant Masters himself who assisted me, further proving his feelings for me. I have explained our plans to T'kel Wattamee, and he has agreed to help me stage something for the human, to get him to feel as though marrying me was his decision and not ours._

_High Council Arbiter  
It is good to hear this news, Arbiter. Our people are getting restless, and I fear they will not wait much longer. Your wedding must take place as soon as you get back to minimise the damage to our society. We look forward to seeing you again. And do not tell anyone else of our plans, we are excusing your use of T'kel as we discussed it was necessary and a wise move on your part, but do not push your luck._

_Arbiter High Council  
As you say, High Council. The performance went well; we are to be married as soon as we get back, as you say. Might I add I only told T'kel what was absolutely necessary, I am not foolish enough to let him know the big picture, as it were.  
I cannot help but feel dishonoured by what I am doing to this human._

_High Council Arbiter  
Do not fear, he will not care. He has feelings for you, remember? As long as you pretend to love him, he will be happy. Why the sudden change in heart Arbiter? It is too late to be helped now in any case. We will speak more once you get here so we may discuss these events in person. I fear this communication system can be hijacked all too easily._

Daniel let the holo panel slide out of his hands and onto the floor, not caring if it broke. He buried his face in his hands and began to sob uncontrollably. This whole time... it had all been a lie? Just an act?

"Daniel?" Daniel slowly lifted his head up from his hands, staring at Kate with eyes red from crying. She looked incredibly confused, but said nothing more. Daniel stood stiffly and shoved the holo panel back under his arm before walking, zombie-like, to the UNSC outpost. He pushed past a surprised Pete and into the communications room. He plugged the holo panel into an adaptor one of their scientists had made and began transferring all of the files to his data pad. Once complete, he pulled up his Emails. Under the subject: Please consider, there was an Email he had read over many times.

_Sergeant Masters,  
As you know, the alliance could fall apart at any moment, leading to another war. You and the rest of the ambassadors all received my message about your information-gathering mission. But you're in the best position, being engaged to an Arbiter. If you feel as though this is immoral, you can ignore this message and enjoy the rest of your life with your wife, but it would be in our best interests if you were to take advantage of her to gather sensitive information from higher-ups and send it to us._

_Remember, this is a request, not a command. We cannot and will not order you to betray your wife._

_-Admiral Hood._

Daniel pressed send, and in a matter of minutes, everything on Thelya's personal holo-panel was transferred to Lord Hood's data pad. He put his own data pad back in its pouch and made his way back to the house, his face unreadable by everyone who saw it.

"Where did I put that accursed thing?" Thelya demanded, searching through her bag once again. She checked under the bed, drawers and everywhere else she could think of. Had she left it on the ship? She could just go back to the High Council and ask for another, but that holo panel had sensitive information on it. If that got into the wrong hands... She heard the front door open and quickly ran out into the lobby, sighing in relief. She had been worrying about him. "Daniel, where have you..." she trailed off when Daniel dropped her holo panel at her feet. He then silently brushed past her and into the bedroom. "No," she choked, before turning around and running after him. "No! Daniel, you do not understand!"

"I understand perfectly," he snapped, packing all his belongings into his bag. "Now, as ambassadors, we have a meeting to attend to. You and I are going to _pretend _to be a happy married couple. You won't have a problem with that, will you? _Pretending._"

"Daniel –"

"And then after that, we are going to move into our permanent home and _pretend _to love each other for the rest of our lives." His data pad buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the three words from Admiral Hood.

_Daniel, I'm sorry._

He snorted and dropped it back in his pocket. "Now come along, _dear_, we don't want to be late." Thelya's shoulders slumped as she watched him storm out the room. She followed him meekly, trying her best to start up a conversation, but Daniel just ignored her for the rest of the time it took them to get to the Council Chambers.


	12. Chapter 11: Delusions for the Delusional

After a lengthy day of politics, the basics of the treaty were established, with Daniel not even sparing Thelya a glance the entire time. They arrived at their new home, a massive mansion of a house with intricate architecture that would have had Daniel so excited he wouldn't be able to stay still under normal circumstances. Instead, he threw his bag on the couch and headed for the guest room. He locked himself inside to presumably go to sleep. Thelya dropped herself on the couch, wondering what she was going to do. There was a shy knock on the door. Thelya opened it, to reveal a concerned-looking Kath along with a Sangheili she recognised as Lanai.

"Hello Katherine," Thelya greeted her, smiling weakly.

"Hi," Kath answered. "I uh, came to see how Daniel was doing? He was crying a lot earlier and... are you okay?" Kath noticed the expression on her face. Thelya sighed.

"Come take a seat Katherine. I have done something terrible..."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

After Thelya finished her story, the group fell silent. Lanai shuffled awkwardly, wondering why he insisted on coming. Oh yeah – because Daniel had almost been assassinated, and he didn't want the same to happen to Kath. He wondered if it had actually been wise though, considering the lack of anything happening. He could hear nothing but the breathing of his companions, and eventually had enough of it.

"I am going to... check the perimeter," he excused himself lamely. As he walked out the front door, he remembered Pete saying the exact same thing earlier, making him wonder just how alike they were. He amused himself with this notion for a while before he got bored. He took a deep breath of the clean, fresh night air, thankful of the less tense atmosphere. He suddenly heard the murmur of voices inside, but didn't dare go back in, fearing that the silence would come back soon enough.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"Goodnight Thelya," Kath said grimly, still not quite believing what she had just heard. She'd had enough of just sitting there pondering it, and knew Lanai felt the same, seeing as he had left a few minutes ago. She followed him out the door and saw him just standing there. "You do realise there's plenty more perimeter than just this doorway," Kath pointed out, making him jump.

"Katherine, I did not notice your approach."

"No kidding."

Thelya watched them leave, and knew that they hated her. She didn't blame them, hell; _she _hated _herself_ for what she'd done. Her eyes fell upon the door to the guest room. She approached it quietly and knocked softly on the door. There was no answer.

"Daniel," she croaked. "I-I know that you are angry with me, but please, the only way I can make it up to you is if we talk." No response. "At least let me explain myself Daniel. Please. Daniel, I _do _love you... and... and I cannot live like this – without you. Please open the door." Still, there was no answer. "At least let me know you are alive in there, just give me a yes or no Daniel. If you say no, I promise I will leave you alone." The silence was frustrating. "Daniel! Answer me!" she cried, banging her fist against the door. "Daniel!" The lock snapped and the door went flying open, revealing an empty room, smashed window, and small slivers of pink glass all over the floor. Thelya picked up one of the tiny shards and gasped. A Needle. She charged out the house and down to underneath the window. Even in the darkness, she could see the tracks in the mud.

She followed the trail, igniting the Energy Sword she kept at her hip. Her hoof hit something hard. She picked the object up and wiped a bit of mud off it, revealing Daniel's helmet. She sprinted faster, and eventually she picked up the sounds of a Needler being fired, along with the sounds of a Plasma Rifle, Beam Rifle, Plasma Pistol and Concussion Rifle. She found herself crashing through a small cluster of trees, eventually stumbling across the firefight. Daniel was firing a Needler from behind his cover of a fallen log while six Sangheili laid continuous fire upon him from their various weapons. Thelya roared and charged at them. She cut down two of the Sangheili and took their Plasma Rifles in her hands to lay down barrages of Plasma on the rest of them. The last one was the one wielding the Concussion Rifle. He fired a projectile at Daniel, only for it to be intercepted by Thelya's Energy Sword, which she had ignited and flung out hastily. The projectile exploded in a ball of orange light, leaving the surprised Sangheili to be gunned down by Thelya's Plasma Rifles.

As soon as his body hit the ground, Thelya dropped her weapons and ran to Daniel's side. He lay slumped against the log, his hand gripping a large splinter of wood that had stuck into his side. He sported more than a few plasma burns and was covered in blood, not all of it his own. She snatched him up in her arms, making him cry out in agony. "Shh, you are going to be okay," she whispered to him as she ran back to the house. "Stay with me Daniel, stay with me," she pleaded as she cleared the kitchen table and laid him on top of it. She snatched a First Aid kit from one of the cupboards and put it down next to him. Opening it, she ran her eyes over the various medical supplies. She grasped the chunk of wood and gave it a gentle tug. It came out a couple of centimetres and caused Daniel to scream in pain. Thelya gave it another tug, prompting the same results.

"Fuck! Just pull it out!" Daniel shouted, grabbing her wrist. She braced herself and gave it a massive yank, removing it completely from his body and making him scream twice as loud as before. He was panting heavily now, and blood was leaking from his wound. Thelya grabbed the tweezers and removed any splinters that still remained inside him while he just gritted his teeth and breathed heavier. Thelya got the needle and thread, then began stitching up his wound, before finally concentrating on the plasma burns. She applied burn cream and disinfectant which made him hiss in pain, but he bit his lip and managed to not cry out this time. Finally, she finished with the last wound and brushed a strand of hair from his sweating face. "I'm... still... mad at you," he panted. Thelya kissed his forehead.

"I know."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Yuni picked off the last Sangheili with her Beam Rifle. She watched Thelya run with Daniel in her arms and shook her head in disappointment. It was amazing how careless she was with him. With his feelings as well as his body. Yuni wondered what he saw in her as she studied the bodies of the Sangheili Thelya had missed. She sighed and considered her options. Nah, she didn't need to boast about the countless times she had just saved the Arbiter's life. She turned to leave, only to come face-to-face with another Sangheili traitor. She gulped as she considered trying to bring up her Beam Rifle, then again there wasn't enough distance between them for her to use it, and she would be dead before she was halfway done. Then there was a _bang, _a characteristic of human weapons. How odd. She didn't feel any pain either. She cracked open an eye that she had unconsciously closed, now staring into the eyes of Pete.

"'Ello," he greeted her. "It looked like you needed some help."

"You... followed me?" she asked.

"It was kinda hard not to. Seeing you sneaking out in the middle of the night was just too tempting." He paused and replaced the discharged shell in his shotgun. "What were you doing? Before you found them in trouble I mean." Yuni cocked her head at him, deep in thought.

"I was going for a walk. To clear my head."

"With your gun?"

"It's a dangerous neighbourhood."

"It's the capital city of Sangheilios. Now tell me what you were really doing." But Yuni wasn't listening. It _was _the capital city of Sangheilios, so why were there so many assassins? This should be the safest place on the planet.

"Someone in the High Council..." she trailed off. She stared into Pete's eyes again. "This betrayal goes far deeper than we first expected..."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel grunted and sat up in his bed. Morning light gently floated in through the slightly parted curtains. He swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"You know, I'm starting to get used to almost being killed," he muttered. His body was aching and begging him for more rest, but he ignored his urges and trotted towards the door. Thelya placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You should not be up. Your body had barely finished recovering from the Mongoose incident when you got beaten by T'kel. And just when you heal up, you go and get yourself hurt again. You _need _to rest, or your body will give up on you." Daniel smiled at her grimly.

"You know, you don't have to pretend to care anymore. I took care of myself before I met you, I can still do that." Thelya picked him up bridal style and laid him out on their bed. She placed a hand on his chest to prevent him from standing up again.

"And you do not have to be so grumpy. Yes, I lied to you, but what I feel for you _now _is real. It may not have been 'love at first sight', but that does not mean I cannot develop feelings for you along the way." Daniel sighed and relaxed his body, sinking into the soft bed slightly.

"I know. It's just... something's been bothering me..." Thelya sat down on the bed beside him, staring at him intently. Realising he had just made her expect an elaboration, Daniel cleared his throat. "Nothing's right about this."

"About what?" Thelya inquired, narrowing her eyes slightly. Was he having second thoughts about their interspecies relationship?

"Everything," he muttered. "Why not kill me _before _we get married, why not prevent you from meeting me in the first place? Why wait 'till now? Why were the Covenant waiting for us on that planet? How did they know what we were going to do? How did Pete recover so quickly? Why hasn't the Covenant given up yet? How the hell are assassins getting into what's supposed to be the safest city on Sangheilios? Why in god's name is Master Chief here?" Thelya blinked at the barrage of questions, trying to process them all. Just at that moment there was an insistent knocking at the door. Thelya groaned.

"I will get it. You do not move from this bed or I will tie you down, clear?" Daniel nodded. Thelya smiled at him and strode out the room to the front door. She returned a few seconds later. "It is Pete and Yuni, they wish to talk to us, both of us."

"Can't you tell them to come back later? I'd really like to cuddle right now," Daniel moaned, groping the air in a '_I wanna hug you' _kind of way.

"They say it is urgent," Thelya insisted.

"Well, you see, the problem is I can't move from this bed or an angry ogre will tie me to it," Daniel explained. Thelya snorted and picked him up.

"Well, _you _will not be moving then." Daniel squirmed weakly in her grasp, then put up his hands in defeat as she carried him out of their bedroom.

"Alright, you win. You can put me down."

"No, you are right. Walking is not good for you. I will carry you."

"Thelyaaaa..." Daniel groaned. She placed him on the couch where Pete and Yuni were waiting, apparently too anxious to sit down.

"Daniel," Pete started immediately. "We strongly believe someone in the High Council is trying to assassinate you – they're the ones trying to kill you!"

"Join the club," Daniel groaned, massaging his temples. Pete cocked his head at him in confusion. "I've been wondering Pete, at the time I didn't notice, but how did you recover so quickly? From the Mongoose explosion?"

"I got lucky," Pete replied gruffly.

"Pete, don't make me pull a rank on you."

"We're the same rank."

"Thelya's an Arbiter," Daniel pointed out.

"Oh no, you are not involving me in this," Thelya told him. "It is not that important Daniel."

"It _is_," Daniel insisted. "I _need _to know."

"You do not Daniel; it will bring you no closer to answering your queries."

"You're not being very helpful Thelya. Besides, that _was_ one of my queries."

"Drop it Daniel," Pete growled.

"You know what? Screw you Pete. I thought we were friends. What the hell are you hiding from me?" Yuni cringed slightly as voices were raised. She glanced towards the door nervously, wondering if she could slip away unnoticed.

"_Friends _Daniel, I don't have to tell you shit if I don't want to!"

"_Fuck _you! Why won't anyone listen to me?" Daniel cried, leaping to his feet, rage numbing the pain.

"Oh, boo hoo, Daniel isn't getting his own way!"

"You _are_ acting rather pompous Daniel," Thelya put in calmly.

"_Shut up _Thelya! I'm really, _really _pissed off with you right now!"

"Of course you are," she snorted. "Always finding somebody to blame, are you not?"

"You know what? If you hadn't tricked me into marrying you, I wouldn't be in this bullshit! Why the hell will no one tell the fucking truth to me?"

"Well maybe you should be more careful around women. Did you really think someone would give you their unconditional love in five minutes?"

"You know what? Maybe I will be more careful!" Daniel roared. Yuni bolted, the door slamming shut behind her as she fled.

"Great!" Pete yelled. "Now you've upset the lady. I'm going to have to try and assure her we're not as barbaric as the Brutes now, which is going to be very fucking hard after this show you've put on!" Pete stormed out as well. After a brief pause, Daniel stomped away, his leg suddenly giving out without warning. He grabbed the door's frame for support and felt Thelya attempt to help him back up. He slapped away her hand and slung his rifle over his shoulder.

"Don't touch me," he spat, before he too left. Thelya got the feeling she shouldn't follow him.


	13. Chapter 12: Brutality and Compassion

**A/N: Hello? Is... is there anyone out there? I'm sorry if I seem bit demanding, but when I see I have no new reviews, I feel as though I've done something wrong and you all hate me. Did I ruin the story? Did I come off as rude when I said I wasn't going to make Arbiter pregnant (the decision is still up to you, I have received one negative vote on the subject, so I'm going with that)? Is there not enough sex (there will be more ;) )?Are my A/Ns getting irritating? Please tell me what's wrong! D: Will it make you feel better if I post this chapter?**

Thelya watched the first sun slowly rise over the horizon. She sighed and stepped away from the window.

"Politics," she growled to herself. "Why can things not be simpler?" She wandered down to the kitchen and glanced at where the food was stored, but decided she wasn't hungry enough to eat. She played recent events over in her mind. Daniel just needed some time to cool off... then she could tell him the whole, unrestricted, unguarded truth. They were married, and he was human. That meant he wouldn't judge her for showing compassion, a weak emotion according to the Prophets, but they were traitors, and they were dead. Why could things not change? Why was it so hard to try? After thinking it over a bit more, she realised that she might have been doing something wrong by human standards. She clicked her fingers, wondering how she had been so ignorant.

Thelya planned out a speech in her head, before setting out to prepare a meal they could share while they discussed these things. Once done, she sat down and waited. In order to pass the time, she wandered out into the balcony area. She decided the view was better there and set the meal out there instead. There was a knock, so Thelya smiled and jogged over to the front door with a spring in her step. She bumped into Daniel and they both fumbled to open the door. Wait, she bumped into Daniel? Daniel and Thelya turned to look at each other.

"Thelya –" Daniel started.

"Daniel –"

"Last night –"

"I did not mean to –"

"I didn't really –"

"It was insensitive of me –" They both fell silent as they realised they kept cutting each other off.

"Hey, uh, I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I can come back later," Pete told them, still standing at the door.

"Pete!" Daniel exclaimed. "I'm _really _sorry about last night. I wasn't thinking straight... It's just been so stressful..."

"It's fine," Pete assured him. "We all blew off some steam. It's good. Now all those bad feelings aren't bottled up inside us, right?"

"Yeah," Daniel nodded thoughtfully. "Do you want to –?"

"Can't," Pete replied, guessing what Daniel was going to say. "I'm meeting up with Yuni in five minutes. You know me; I'm never one to keep a lady waiting."

"Is-is she alright?" Daniel stammered, paling slightly. Pete nodded slowly.

"I think so, but it'd probably be best if I don't keep her waiting."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed, shuffling awkwardly. "See you later then?"

"Yeah. Bye." Pete trotted away, leaving Daniel to close the door. He leaned against the wall and sighed as he slowly slid his back down until he was sitting on the floor.

"We should've just cuddled," he murmured. A smile slowly stretched across his face before he started laughing hysterically. Thelya suddenly felt concerned for his mental well-being. Finally, his laughing fit came to a halt and he sighed, falling silent again. "I, uh... made us something to eat," he told her, gesturing towards the dining area.

"So did I..." Thelya responded, her eyes flicking briefly towards the balcony.

"Oh, well let's go then," Daniel smiled.

"No, no. I am sure you are a better cook than I."

"It's only risotto. Nothing fancy," Daniel shrugged.

"I could say the same about my Shartoulay," Thelya countered. They stood in silence for a moment before Daniel suddenly smiled and fetched his risotto from the dining room. He led Thelya out onto the balcony and set the plate on her side of the table.

"You have mine, I have yours," he suggested proudly. Thelya chuckled and sat down.

"Ah, I finally get to try some of that '_real_' human food you were talking about." Thelya took a forkful into her mandibles and chewed it thoroughly. She glanced over and noticed Daniel twiddling his thumbs nervously. "You are right. It _is _much better than the REMs." Daniel sighed in relief, ignoring the mix-up of MRE, and tried Thelya's dish. It tasted like honey, except without such aggressive sweetness. It looked like a bowl of noodles floating in some red sauce and totally took Daniel by surprise. Underneath the weak honey taste, he could discern something that tasted vaguely like beef with a hint of herbs and pepper. To say the least, it tasted good. There were also a few vegetables floating in the mixture which tasted like minty carrot-peas. He quickly consumed another mouthful.

"You have to teach me how to make this... ah... Shar, Shartoole? Shartay?"

"Shartoulay," Thelya told him. They continued to chat away about trivial matters and just generally enjoying the other's company. The bowls were soon empty and Daniel scooted his chair around so he could slide his arm around Thelya's shoulders, pulling her close so they could use each other's warm to ward off the oncoming chill. They stared silently at the setting sun wistfully until the moons dominated the night sky. Daniel rested his head on Thelya's shoulder, prompting her to bend her neck to gaze at his face. He looked back at her with half-lidded eyes and a goofy smile, which Thelya happily returned. She gently picked him up, this time receiving no complaints as she carried him to their room.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

_Clump, clump, clump._

"Could you possibly make any more noise?" chided Cortana. Master Chief, being his usual, stoic self, said nothing. He slid the clip out of his Sniper Rifle and checked it was full, before slapping it back in his gun. "Okay... should be another twenty metres, then take a left at this intersection." Master Chief followed her directions and came up in front of an old, shabby house that was clearly abandoned and falling apart. "Cosy," Cortana commented drily. Chief rammed the butt of his Sniper Rifle into the door, snapping it open as if it were a mere curtain being pushed aside. Cortana flicked his night vision on for him wordlessly, letting him concentrate on the job at hand. He scouted the whole building, finding nothing.

"It's empty," he grunted gruffly.

"Strange... this is where the signal was coming from. Maybe we should – Stop! Wait a moment. What's that?" Chief bent down and picked up the item of interest. It was a small mess of wiring and electronics. "Well, that explains the signal. But where did he get off to?" Suddenly, a large heavy mass fell on the Chief's back, forcing him to the ground. "Go Chief! Don't let him get away!" Master Chief flipped himself onto his feet nimbly and sprinted after the escaping assailant. He burst out into the open air and glanced left, then right. He saw his target fleeing down the street where he had just come from. He levelled his Sniper Rifle and shot him in the back of the head. Master Chief strolled over to the body, now lying in a crumpled heap, and flipped it onto its back. He slipped the Mark V helmet off the body's head and gazed at the face.

"Tell Admiral Hood that Rogue Spartan 027 has been taken down."

"Right away... there, it should be sending now."

"How long until he gets it?"

"The Communication Satellites we dropped on the way here should take about ten minutes to bounce the signal back to Earth. How long it takes Hood to pick up his Data Pad is a whole different story." Master Chief stood there for a few minutes, silently gazing at the dead face of the Spartan. "It's weird. How did he survive so long without the Elites noticing him? If I remember correctly, his battalion was sent here just before the fall of Reach."

"He's dead now," Master Chief pointed out as he stood up straight and began walking.

"And a ship will be here to pick us up in a few more days. What will we do then?"

"Whatever Hood needs us to do." Cortana sighed to herself. She'd had a feeling he was going to say that.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Pete waved goodbye to Yuni and jogged through the brisk night. He could dimly see by the light of the moons, but the alleyways lining the streets were engulfed in pitch black shadows. Out of these shadows stepped two Sangheili. Pete paid no attention, deciding to brush past them. However, two more stepped out in front of them.

"Fine night for a walk, human," one of them snorted. The other two stepped up from behind him joined into one group. Pete nodded once.

"That it is," he returned icily. The speaker, who Pete was assuming was the leader, sneered at him and swung a fist at Pete's face. He stumbled back from the force of the impact, and was grabbed by two of the other Sangheili, effectively putting his arms out of action. The leader delivered another punch to Pete's stomach, winding him. "You just fucked with the wrong marine," Pete smirked, his eyes glinting dangerously.

Supported by the two Sangheili, he flung his feet up and smashed the leader in the face with his booted feet. The Sangheili staggered back holding its face. Pete yanked his arm, hurling the Sangheili on his left into the one on his right, sending them both crashing down in a confused tangle of limbs. The fourth Sangheili bashed Pete across the face, then kneed him in the stomach. Pete grabbed his hoof and snapped it forward, breaking the double-jointed knee. He roared in pain and collapsed onto the ground. Pete roundhouse kicked the leader in the face as he began stumbling towards him. The two on the ground finally managed to stumble to their feet, but Pete cracked their heads together, knocking them out simultaneously.

Pete grabbed the leader by the throat and hoisted him into the air. "Night night," he chuckled, before slamming his face into the wall of the alley. He approached the final Sangheili, who was trying to crawl away, dragging his useless leg along behind him. Pete trod on his injured leg, making him roar again and causing his limbs to fail at holding him up. Pete grabbed the nape of his neck and slammed his face onto the hard, stone, road. He wiped a splatter of blue blood off his hand and continued on his way down the street, whistling casually.


	14. Chapter 13: Not Today

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews peoples. I'm not actually that needy, but I was really concerned you wouldn't like that chapter, so yah. Anyways, if you could find the time, I just want you to know every review puts a smile on my face (Like this :) ) so thank you for all your support!**

_Knock knock knock._

"I will get it..." Thelya groaned, reaching out to pull the covers off herself.

"No you won't," Daniel told her, slinging his arms around her waist and pulling her down next to him. He rubbed her neck gently, causing her eyes to drift shut and tilt her head so more of her skin was exposed to him. Daniel traced a finger along one of her mandibles before hooking his finger under her chin and pulling her face to his. They locked lips – and mandibles – in a passionate kiss, Thelya gently sliding back into her comfortable position lying on the bed. Daniel wrapped his arms around her again and rested his head on her chest. "We have some cuddling to catch up on." Thelya smiled and returned his gentle embrace, letting her eyes droop shut again. Their moment of peace was interrupted by another insistent flurry of knocks. Daniel moaned in annoyance. "Can't these people take a hint? All I want is one day alone with my wife..."

"It could be important," Thelya reasoned, slipping him off her as she attempted to rise again.

"Okay, but if it's anything short of life or death, I'm going to shove my foot so far up their ass that –"

"I am sure it will only be for a few minutes. In fact, you stay here and keep the bed warm. To make it up to you, when I get back, we can do a lot more than cuddle..." Thelya let the promise hang in the air as she plodded down the hall to the door. Daniel smirked and lay back. He gingerly pressed his fingers against his recent wound. It felt a lot worse than the other day, perhaps he had moved around too much... Or it was infected. Daniel grimaced and gently unwound the bandage. He thoroughly checked it for any signs of infection, but found Thelya had done an excellent job of sterilising it. He fetched a fresh bandage from the bedside table and redressed his wound, just in time for Thelya to come back into the room. "The council has called a meeting due to recent developments," she explained as she removed her clothes she slept in.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Daniel demanded.

"I suppose we shall find out. For now, we have a couple of hours on our hands..." She slipped Daniel's shirt off and gently raked her fingers across his chest.

**A/N: Surprise Sex Scene! If y'all don't wanna read dis hardcore shizz, skip 2 der nxt chapter.  
Sorry about that. I went semi-insane. Seriously though, children; cover your eyes.**

Thelya hooked a finger into Daniel's pants and yanked his pants off. Daniel pushed himself up, his face reddening as his shaft started hardening. Thelya placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back onto the bed.

"You are injured, let me take care of you," she purred.

"I've had worse," Daniel protested.

"I do not believe you."

"I survived a Mongoose explosion," he pointed out.

"As did I." Daniel could see she had something planned. He opened his mouth to counter her when he was suddenly silenced by a slender tongue. Daniel retaliated with his own tongue, each fighting for dominance over the other's mouth. Thelya rubbed the claw marks she had left last time gently, making Daniel shiver and moan into her mouth. Daniel slid a hand down her back, before plunging two fingers into her wet pussy. She involuntarily gasped and arched her back, accidentally breaking the kiss as she did so. Daniel grinned and took advantage of her stunned state to roll her over so she was underneath him.

Thelya shot a mock-glare at him, but Daniel just widened his smile and started gently pulling his finger out of her slick sex, before sinking it back inside. Thelya gasped again and tried to reach for him, most likely to switch back to the previous position. Daniel however, was having none of it. He started rubbing her insides as he pumped his fingers in and out of her. He slid down and pulled his fingers away. Not giving Thelya time to recover, he buried his face into her crotch and started nibbling her clit. Thelya yelped and bucked her hips as she felt his tongue slip inside her, seeking out her juices. Daniel licked like a cat would lick milk, earning gasps and moans of pleasure. He felt a hand on the back of his head, pushing him deeper into her sex. Daniel knew he had her now, so eased up on his oral assault, settling for a slower, more deliberate pace. Thelya bucked her hips, trying to get him to go faster. Daniel felt her vagina tighten suddenly and try and squeeze his tongue. Thelya's hand shoved his head as deep as it would go while her thighs landed on either side of Daniel's head, trapping him there as her juices rushed into his waiting mouth. Daniel happily gulped them down. Only when her femcum trickled to a halt did Thelya finally release him from her grip. Thelya was shaking slightly from the experience, apparently unable to form words, judging by the soundless flailing of her mandibles.

Daniel lay down on top of her happily, snuggling up on her chest as she attempted to recover. "D-Daniel, that was... nobody has ever... Oh Daniel." Thelya hugged him tightly, kissing his neck where it was most sensitive; right where she had marked him the other night. She could feel his hard member pressing against her thigh, and let a grin spread across her face. She pulled away from his neck, but only enough so her mandibles were hovering right next to his ear. "Of course, as any dutiful wife would, I must return the favour."

"Oh, no it's okay Th –" She cut him off by once again kissing him deeply, not caring that she was tasting her own fluids. Daniel's face turned red as she broke away and gently grasped his shaft, giving it an experimental tug. She ran her tongue from the base to the tip, making him shiver with excitement. Thelya was satisfied with the lack of complaints or embarrassed words and inserted the tip of his member into her mouth. She bobbed her head gently, being careful of the sharp teeth on her mandibles, even though they were pointing at the wrong angle to pierce his skin. She sucked on only the tip for a while, holding him by his hips as he tried to buck and force his dick deeper into her mouth. Finally, she relented and slid the first half of his member into her mouth, bobbing her head as she did so. Daniel moaned and his dick twitched in her mouth. She eagerly took in more and more of his shaft until she felt it hit the back of her throat. She wrapped a hand around what she couldn't fit in her mouth and pumped it. Her tongue danced across his hot flesh, doubling the pleasure Daniel was receiving. He moaned again, his head falling onto the pillow as his eyes drifted shut. He placed an encouraging hand at the back of her head, pushing down rhythmically as she bobbed. Deciding to tease him, Thelya stopped bobbing when his penis hit the back of her throat, just holding it there, gently swirling her tongue around it.

Daniel tried to move her head with his hand, groaning in complaint, until he finally got the idea and placed his hand back on the bed next to him. Thelya smiled around the thick meat in her mouth and redoubled her efforts, slamming his shaft into her mouth hard and fast. Daniel cried out, but all he could do was grasp the sheets until his knuckles turned white. Thelya could feel his dick twitching inside her mouth and felt Daniel's attempts at bucking his hips increase. He was close. Thelya removed her hand and rammed his dick down her throat, surprising even herself as her snout pressed against his crotch. Daniel yelled again as his dick erupted, sending glob after glob of thick cum down her throat. Thelya pulled his meat out until only the tip remained inside so the last few strings landed on her tongue. She swallowed his creamy seed and let his dick flop out of her mouth. She licked her mandibles and collapsed onto the bed next to him. She let an arm lay loosely around him as he kissed her cheek sleepily.

"You taste good..." she mumbled, already being lulled to sleep by the warmth of his body and her recent orgasm.

"Serderyermirlervv," Daniel mumbled, his body already limp and retreating into the world of dreams.

**A/N: CrazyBirdMan59 do good?  
Thought I may as well throw a couple more lemons in there seeing as I rated it M. Do you want me to stop? Do you likey? Let the Review Box be your royal Homing Pigeon :)**


	15. Chapter 14: In-Between Times

**A/N: Sorry for yet another Author's Note but I received a (don't want to call it a complaint) _request _that I not put any more "lemons" in this story. Please bear in mind that I am not trying to be rude and I love you all forever and always :) but for the people who don't enjoy the lemons, I just want to point out I do put up warnings about upcoming Mature Content and if you don't like it, you don't actually have to read it (I also had a poll about Mature Content. Majority said yes). Now, there's not going to be another lemon for a while so don't panic (or do panic, depending on your opinion of this), but for future reference, I try to please everybody, and some (if not most) people reading this want lemons, thus I include them. Thank you for understanding (and please, no offense was intended by this, I'm not singling anyone out, don't hate me and no one give anyone any crap over this) While I'm here I may as well say that updates may slow down, but I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON THIS STORY! (I strongly dislike random half-finished stories) :) Anyway, on to the story...**

Daniel drowsily took a seat next to Thelya in the vast Council Chambers.

"Senator Dar'ro, you are late," the High Priest growled disapprovingly. The Sangheili in question bowed in apology and sat down. "Things here are getting worse," the High Priest began. "There has been yet another attempt on a human's life. This is not good for our alliance."

"Perhaps we could move them to a neutral location, and send some of our own Councillors along with them. Discreetly, of course," a Council Member suggested.

"The traitors will stop at nothing to see these humans dead. No, they will find them eventually."

"Perhaps then it would be a temporary solution, until this treachery has been extinguished?"

"And if we do not find them in time?"

"You are all imbeciles. The obvious solution is to send some of _our _ambassadors to Earth." The arguments from the various Sangheili stopped as they turned to the humans.

"That won't change anything. The only difference will be the assassins and the people whose lives are in danger," a human ambassador told them.

"Are you suggesting that humans are stronger than Sangheili?"

"Oh, do stop being so touchy Yad'non. He was merely saying that we would be surrounded. Also, it does not matter how strong a warrior is, if the bullet is stronger, they will die all the same."

"Are you questioning human honour?"

"Are you questioning mine?"

"We will send a fleet with our ambassadors! That way they could not possibly be outnumbered!"

"It will look like an attack on the human race!"

"Besides, then the humans will be surrounded by potential traitors again, and no problems are solved!" Daniel groaned and rested his head in his hands as they continued to shout at each other. Even some humans were putting something in occasionally. Daniel's thoughts drifted back to the other day, when he had almost died.

"Why are they being so extravagant? Why not just have bodyguards?" he muttered.

"What was that?" a Sangheili next to barked. "Speak up!" The room fell silent to see what the commotion was about.

"W-well," Daniel stammered, hating being in the centre of attention, especially because he knew he was about to be ridiculed. "I was just saying: why be so extravagant? If each human had a guard or two that we know we can trust, the assassins will never be able to reach their target alive?"

"That is an excellent point," the High Priest told him, making him blush at the praise. "Tomorrow, we shall hold trials for bodyguards – unless, of course, some of you have certain individuals in mind?"A few humans did, in fact, have a certain individual in mind. The High Priest went around the room, asking each human in turn. Kath chose Lanai, glaring at Pete as she did. Pete himself declared he didn't need a guard, as he had proven the other night. After some reasoning from the Council, Pete chose T'kel. Daniel wasn't sure if he had been convinced, or if he just wanted them to shut up as soon as possible. When the High Priest asked him, Daniel discreetly clasped Thelya's hand with his own.

"I'm married to quite possibly one of the best warriors on the planet," he shrugged. Thelya smiled at him gratefully and gave his hand a gently squeeze. More than a few members of the Council snorted or chuckled softly, the Priest being one of the chucklers.

"I do not know what she has been telling you, but I digress. You cannot possibly believe a woman could be capable of a job of such importance?"

"That's my wife you're talking about," Daniel growled, rising from his seat.

"Indeed it is. Surely you cannot trust her, she lied to you after all."

"Yeah, on _your _orders. But she duped you. She does love me, and I love her. I was an idiot before, but those moments we shared, the emotions we felt, cannot be faked, no matter how good of an actor you are. Especially if that actor is a Sangheili, who are incredibly used to showing no emotion at all!" The whole room fell silent, leaving Daniel to realise that wasn't the smartest thing to say. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Wait..." he thought aloud. "How the hell did you know I found out about that?" The Priest opened his mandibles, then clamped them down in a scowl before saying:

"I do not have to reveal my affairs to you, human."

"_Affairs_, huh? Spying on me? Surely you would have seen the assassins breaking into our home, surely you would have stopped them?"

"Well, the circumstances –"

"You double-crossing split-lipped arse-face son of a bitch! Pete was right! _You're _the ringleader of this rebellion!" Out of the corner of his eye, Daniel noticed some of the Council members stand up. The Priest's eyes flickered over to them too, before facing Daniel again. He let out a roar of rage and at least twenty Sangheili leapt to their feet. Weapons appeared in their hands and started firing in all directions. Daniel yelped and dived behind a marble pillar. Thelya's shields flared to life and she drew her Energy Sword. She cut down the nearest traitor and threw Daniel their Carbine. An all-out war erupted in the Council Chambers, and in seconds plasma was flying everywhere, singing the floor, ceiling, walls, and bodies of Council Members. Daniel fired a few shots from his gun, managing to take out one of the traitors. Thelya had personally taken out at least six of them. The last traitor fell to the ground, dead.

"There may be more, hiding," Thelya panted, putting her sword away. She ran her eyes across the surviving High Council Members, then over all of the regular Council Members. They nodded to her, slowly holstering their weapons.

"I only counted two of ours go down," Lanai murmured to her as he brushed past. Thelya nodded.

"We did not lose many. This was a loss on their part, not ours." She turned to Daniel."Thank you Daniel. You have purged the traitors from our ranks."

"I helped," Daniel admitted, tossing the Carbine back to her. She caught it without even thinking and followed him as he trudged out the door. The High Council Members and human ambassadors filed out of the room, leaving a few Sangheili behind to clean up. "That went better than I expected," Daniel commented once they were well on the way home.

"Mmm," Thelya hummed in agreement. They walked in silence for a bit until they reached their home.

"You know, I think tomorrow we should go on a picnic," Daniel stated.

"A pic-i-nic?" Thelya asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"You don't know what a picnic is?" Thelya shook her head, still gazing at him expectantly."Well then, tomorrow, I'll show you."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Thelya warily opened her eyes and patted the bed next to her. She frowned as her groggy mind realised there should be a body lying next to her. She immediately leaped up and grabbed her armour, hastily putting it on as she blundered out the door, grabbing her Carbine on the way out.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Thelya jolted to a stop and whirled around. She cautiously stepped into the kitchen, and immediately her nose was assaulted with a variety of interesting smells. Daniel was humming happily to himself as he clattered around with various cooking utensils. Thelya sighed in relief and hugged him from behind. Daniel chuckled softly. "Why so clingy?"

"I... I thought they had taken you," Thelya confessed.

"That would be the way to ruin the day, wouldn't it?" Daniel paused briefly to motion towards what was clearly at least half an hour's work. Carefully wrapped and prepared food items were neatly packed into a small basket with a blanket curled up next to it. Daniel pulled some item of human food out of the oven, and when he caught Thelya's curious gaze, he laughed softly. "Bacon and egg pie," he explained as he grabbed some foil and began to wrap it. Thelya picked up a bottle from the basket.

"What is... ch... cham-pag-nee?" she inquired.

"Champagne," Daniel corrected. "It's a type of wine... an alcoholic drink... very romantic." Thelya nodded thoughtfully and carefully placed it back inside the basket.

"What is all this for?"

"Full of questions today are we?" Daniel asked as he put the pie into the basket, then closed the lid. "We're going on a picnic. A day outside; just you and I, some food to keep us going and some nice Sangheili scenery. Know any good spots? Somewhere secluded is usually preferable."

"Well... there was this spot by the lake I used to love when I was a child..."

"Great!" Daniel exclaimed. He stopped suddenly and clicked his fingers. He retrieved two towels from the bathroom. He tried balancing everything in his arms, but Thelya was having none of it. She took the basket off him and slung the handle around her shoulder.

"Better?" Daniel nodded, slightly embarrassed as he bundled up the towels and blanket in his arms.

"Lead the way," he prompted her. Together they set off, Daniel hanging a small note on the door handle as he slammed it shut behind him.

_Gone out for the day, come back tomorrow,  
Daniel &amp; Thelya._

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at the small clearing in less than half an hour. Daniel did a slow 360 to survey the surroundings. They were surrounded by bright foliage and soft, springy grass. There was a small waterfall running down a rocky wall into a large lake of crystal clear water. Daniel took a few moments to marvel at a bunch of odd flowers before setting the blanket down on a flat area. Thelya plonked the basket down and sat next to him gracefully.

"I can see why you love this place so much," Daniel noted as he continued to stare in awe at the pristine nature that stretched around them. Daniel constantly found new things to attract his attention, such as an odd bird which had a grey body, long, stalk-like legs, a short sharp beak, completely red head, a short crest and three beady eyes. It was about the size of a finch and hopped around on the ground without a care in the world.

"It is exactly as I remember it..." Thelya reminisced. "Daniel," she continued after a moment.

"Mm?"

"I just want you to know how grateful I am you trust me again. I do not think I could live without you." Daniel smiled warmly and patted her hand.

"I could never stay mad at you Thelya. Besides, as I said before, it doesn't matter how many pretty words you use, there are ways to find the truth." Daniel grasped her chin gently and manoeuvred her head so she was staring directly into his pupils. "Such as the eyes. Those big... beautiful... amber... eyes." Unconsciously, they leaned in closer until lips met mandibles and they were kissing passionately.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"Son of a bitch. Bloody love birds have ditched us," Pete murmured as he let the note slip from his hand and resumed hanging from the door handle. Yuni shrugged and scratched the back of her neck, her eyes glued to the ground.

"Guess that ruins our plans for today?" she inquired nervously.

"The whole day? Yuni, Daniel loves the sound of his own voice, but it was never going to take him _all day _to apologise to you. Nah, I've got other stuff we can do to pass the time." Pete tapped his noggin smugly. Yuni's eyes connected with his for a second, before returning to the ground. "C'mon, dirt's not that interesting, show us those bright eyes!" Pete laughed as he stepped off Daniel and Thelya's porch.

"So what _are _we going to do?" Yuni asked curiously as she scurried to catch up.

"I dunno. I don't think I've teased Kath enough today, so I'll have to find some time for that. Then I've got to make fun of Weights' new job as a gardener. After that, it'll probably be time for lunch... now that you mention it, I'm quite busy today." Yuni chuckled softly and pointed at something in the distance. A plumed of black smoke was drifting towards the sky.

"Looks like someone's having a... what is it called again? BBQ? Or some kind of campfire."

"Or maybe Kath's been cooking again," Pete joked. Knowing they had nothing better to do, they both headed in that direction. "Oh shit!" Pete exclaimed. As they rounded the corner, they realised it was in fact, a burning building. Yuni's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Well, that's ruined what could have been a perfect day. What do we do?" she was beginning to look frantic. "Do Elites have a fire brigade?" Pete shook his head.

"Hell if I know, but there could be people in there. We have to help!" Pete ran up to the door and kicked it in, yanking up his shirt to cover his nose and mouth as he stumbled into the burning structure.

"Pete, you're a fucking idiot!" Yuni shouted after him. She panicked and desperately searched for something she could use to help. Meanwhile, Pete stormed the building, his eyes stinging from the thick smoke, and his shirt was proving ineffective as he began to cough and choke a bit. He came across two unconscious bodies on the floor, both Sangheili, not that Pete was expecting them to be anything else. He snatched one up in his arms and raced back to the doorway. He burst out of the flaming house and laid the alien out on the street, much to Yuni's relief. "There's another," gasped Pete as he returned to the building. Yuni stared after him until there was a sickly splutter beneath her. A claw grasped her by the front of her shirt.

"My husband," the Sangheili rasped. "Please... my husband..." Pete once again emerged from within the building with a Sangheili slung over his shoulder. He coughed violently as he laid him out on the road.

"Pete!" Yuni cried, roaming her fingers over his body, counting the various burn marks.

"I'm fine," Pete wheezed, waving a dismissive hand at her. There was a tremendous crash as the building collapsed in on itself, sending sprays of embers skittering across the pavement. Pete wiped stinging tears out of his eyes and vomited. "Ugh... remind me to carry my helmet around more often," he moaned. Yuni took the canteen off her belt and handed it to the female Sangheili. She took a long draught before handing it to her husband, who had apparently come to incredibly quickly. Pete took his own canteen and gulped down long swigs of mercifully cool water.

"Thank you human," the male Sangheili praised him once he had recovered. "You are a truly selfless man. What is your name?"

"Pete." Pete stuck out his hand.

"I am Sayou, and this is my wife, Kraala." They shook hands as if they were old friends reunited.

"What the hell happened in there?" Pete asked. Sayou shook his head sadly.

"I fear I cannot remember. The last thing I can recall is sitting with my wife at the table. We must have left the stove on... I do not know."

"Thank you again for saving us, but we must go now. We must make arrangements for a temporary living space. Perhaps we will see you around?" Kraala said hopefully.

"Well, it ain't hard to find me ma'am. I'm living with the rest of the sorry sods in the UNSC outpost just over thataway. If you need any help, I don't usually have much to do around here." Kraala smiled as they turned to leave.

"I am sure we will pay you a visit sometime," she assured him. Pete tipped an imaginary hat to them before turning back to Yuni, puffing out his chest proudly.

"Aha, gaze upon the manly face of UNSC's latest hero," he exclaimed, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh Pete, you do have a knack for saving fair maidens in distress," Yuni sighed blissfully, matching his efforts and managing to suppress laughter for a few more seconds. But it didn't last, and soon they were almost rolling on the ground with laughter. Soon, they recomposed themselves and headed off to find some new adventure – or more likely, to find someone to pester.

Probably Kath.


	16. Chapter 15: Faccewn

"Hey, Katherine!" Kath paused mid-stride and turned to face the one who was hailing her.

"Lanai," she greeted curiously.

"Had dinner yet?" he asked.

"Nah, just heading to the mess hall now actually," she responded.

"Well, uh, I actually know a place not far from here that does very good Faccewn if you would like to join me?" Kath considered this briefly.

"Assuming that Fa-Fasoon is some kind of food, are you asking me on a date?" Lanai shook his head almost violently.

"Not at all! I just thought you may be getting tired of consuming re-heated food in tinfoil packages. After all, if you are going to live here, you cannot just avoid Sangheili food." Kath shrugged and changed course for the exit.

"Sure, sounds like fun," she told him casually. Fortunately, they left through the north gates seconds before Pete entered through the south.

"Yeah, the kid was always good with aliens. He never felt right killing them, even after they had glassed half the planet. Sometimes I wonder why Daniel joined the Corps in the first place," Pete finished, earning a thoughtful nod from Yuni.

"So, what do humans eat for dinner anyway?" she inquired.

"Well, ambassadors like Daniel will have fancy-schmancy five course meals, but us soldiers get brilliant little packages called MREs," Pete explained as they entered the mess hall. "Though we're hardly soldiers anymore. We're just civilians with guns. I almost miss all the routines. Y'know, morning runs, chanting, training exercises. I feel a lot less sharp sitting on my ass all day." Yuni wasn't really listening though, her rumbling stomach was demanding food, and she found these 'MRE's intriguing.

"What do these MREs taste like?"

"Burning rubber," Pete chuckled. Yuni reeled back slightly.

"You do not like the taste of your own food? Why not go to a Sangheili food joint?"

"I ain't going into a Sangheili restaurant alone!" Pete exclaimed. Yuni gently grasped his hand.

"You won't be alone," she purred, spinning him to face the exit. "You've discouraged me from human food, so let's go get some Sangheili cuisine," she urged. Pete suddenly noticed people around them were pointing and laughing. He yanked his hand from Yuni's and pulled his helmet down so the shadow hid the blush creeping across his face.

"Fine," he grumbled. "Who knows, maybe we'll even find Kath and her boyfriend?" He wondered for a second if Yuni was taking him on a date, but immediately dismissed the idea. She probably didn't know the implications of asking someone out to a meal, and she sure as hell wasn't going to be interested in humans. His mind drifted to Daniel and Thelya.

Would she...?

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel burst up from beneath the water laughing. Thelya grinned and splashed him playfully, then resumed lying down on her towel, letting the suns vaporise the water off her skin. Daniel scrambled out onto shore and slung his towel around himself. He plonked down next to her and studied her curiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his playful demeanour diminishing.

"Nothing. Why do you ask?" Thelya replied monotonously.

"You looked weird when you got out, like you were sick or something," Daniel elaborated, his eyes still demanding answers. Thelya sighed.

"Yes. I feel a little ill," she confessed indifferently. She was trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, this much Daniel knew.

"Shall we call it a day then?" Daniel inquired, even though he had already begun gathering up their scattered belongings. Thelya shrugged, seemingly devoid of energy. Daniel smiled reassuringly and scooped up everything in his arms. "Come, let's go home." Thelya nodded and silently followed him back to their house, where Daniel tucked her into bed, a gesture which was embarrassing for Thelya, yet she felt grateful for it. "I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning," Daniel told her, before exiting the room.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Pete took a seat at the table he had been assigned.

"What is all this stuff?" Pete whispered to Yuni as his eyes darted across the Sangheili symbols that were printed on the menu.

"I would recommend the Faccewn," Yuni told him, pointing at a bunch of meaningless symbols.

"Yeah, whatever. As long as it's edible." The Sangheili waiter arrived and asked for their orders in halted English. Pete cleared his throat. "Yeah, we'll have two, er... Faxsons? I mean, Fasoons... or... um..." Pete fell silent. Yuni said something in quick Sangheili dialogue that Pete didn't understand. He did, however, pick up the word 'Faccewn'. The waiter laughed and moved off to relay their order. "What did you tell him?" Pete demanded.

"I told _her _that you were feeling a bit intimidated and couldn't get your words out straight," Yuni informed him with a sly grin.

"Yuni!" Pete protested, kind of loudly.

"Pete?" a confused voice asked. Pete whirled around and there, in the booth next to them, was Kath.

"Uh, hi Kath," Pete replied awkwardly.

"I _thought _I heard your voice. Is that Yuni?"

"Is that Lanai?" Pete shot back defensively. Kath smirked.

"So, you _do _know his name. You can stop referring to him as 'my boyfriend' now. The door swung open and in wandered T'kel, his arm linked casually with Miranda's.

"Jesus Christ is this the only food joint in town, or are we being pulled here by a giant magnet?" Pete exclaimed in disbelief.

"Actually, just the only joint in town that tolerates interspecies relationships. Very romantic for people wanting to marry an alien."

"You've got to be kidding me. Weights?"

"Yup," Sergeant Weights chirped. "But really, you've got to start calling me Zack."

"Why in god's name are you here?" A slender head poked out from the seat next to him.

"It's the only place I can have a private chat with this guy without being harshly judged and quite possibly murdered. What are _you _doing here? With an alien? Of the opposite gender?" The waiter came back at that moment and slid two plates of what was apparently 'Faccewn'. Zack smirked. "Oh, a romantic dinner. I see. I'll just get back to business then." Before Pete could protest, Zack and his Sangheili friend turned back to their table and continued whatever discussion they had been engaged in. Pete sighed in defeat and studied the food in front of him. They were lumpy, balls of crumbed substance that Pete would not eat until he found out what it was. He picked up his knife and sliced the food in half, revealing a weird browny-paste.

"Uh, not to sound rude, but what _is _this?" Pete asked, dropping his voice to a whisper. Yuni giggled.

"It's a mixture of meat and vegetables, with a little egg. Don't worry; it won't kill you." Pete shook his head at her and took a tentative bite. Well, it didn't taste _that _bad. Pete sighed and ate his meal silently, ever aware of how long it was going to take before he heard the end of this day.

In fact, something told him he'd _never _hear the end of it.


	17. Chapter 16: A New War

**A/N: Well, this is a little early, but the reviews just hit the number '59' which is actually my favourite number. So I couldn't help it, I just had to write another chapter.  
But don't be afraid to change that number.  
I won't be mad at you, I'll be happy.  
Please?  
Anyway... enough of that and onto the story!**

"Mobilise people! The Covenant doesn't wait for dumbasses like you to get your shit together! Go, go, go!"

"Sergeant Maiple, what in god's name is going on here?" Sergeant Maiple spun on his heel and saluted his general. He then pulled back the bolt on his Battle Rifle and slapped a clip in.

"Three Covenant Battle Cruisers have entered our orbit and are launching Phantoms," Maiple reported.

"Sergeant, the war's over. They probably just need some supplies. Now stand down." The building shuddered and the lights flickered as an echoing _boom _resounded through the building.

"They're not here for supplies," Maiple told him glumly. "They've already taken out Hammerhead and Fiosco. We're the only military platform left on the surface of this planet." Sergeant Maiple turned back to his men. "Now get your asses moving... Carles, what the _hell _do you expect to use that Mongoose for? Put that shit away and roll out the Warthogs. I expect to see all three Guass ready in five minutes tops!" Private Carles saluted and abandoned the Mongoose he was trying to start up as he sprinted to a different section of the underground vehicle bay. "Corporal, get your squad to take those weapons up the freight elevator. The men upstairs are going to require some support real soon." Sergeant Maiple jogged off and resumed yelling orders at everyone in sight. The building shuddered again as if struck by an earthquake. It took a whole three seconds before the lights spluttered back to life, signalling they were relying on reserve power now.

"Sergeant! They hit the power grid!" a Corporal informed his superior.

"Corporal, do I look like a dumbass to you? Now stop screwing around and grab that Laser, we're taking a drive!" Sergeant Maiple hopped up on the turret seat of a Warthog that was crawling its way through the mess of infantry. Corporal Hammond nodded and climbed into the passenger seat, flicking the on switch for his Spartan Laser. They were mounted up on one of the four Rocket Hogs they had in stock. "It's a good thing those ONI bastards didn't finish packing this place up, ay Corporal?"

"Yes sir." The Warthog finally made it to the freight elevator, where the squad he had ordered were just finishing putting down six crates stuffed full of munitions. The elevator lurched, then began to rise to the surface level of the base. It came to a halt in the centre of a bare courtyard which had a gate to the north. The gate was flanked by two tall sentry towers, one of which was a mess of smoking rubble and fire. Maiple's Warthog sped off through the gate, causing a few marines to jump aside and drop the sandbags they were trying to place.

"Better hold those bags back marines; we got a few more comin' through!" Sergeant Maiple yelled at them. Then they were out on a grassy plain with a few trees and lakes dotted around. The ground next to them exploded as a Banshee released one of its missiles. Three more Banshees steered towards them and began firing their min guns. Maiple let loose a barrage of missiles at the first one, destroying it with excessive amounts of explosive rounds. "Yee ha!" he cheered, spinning the turret around as the mechanisms reloaded the gun for him. Another missile from a banshee was sent flying in their direction as the flying vehicles looped around to begin another run. The driver swerved and drove up a small mound, sending them sailing through the air before thumping back onto the ground. "Tanner! Ease it up! We ain't the Dukes of Hazard!" Maiple shouted as he pulled both triggers on the turret, blowing up a second Banshee. A line of red fire raced through the air and all but obliterated the third Banshee.

"Hell of a shot Corporal," Specialist Tanner commented as he yanked the vehicle to the side, narrowly avoiding yet another plasma missile.

"It's coming back around..." Hammond warned, trying to line up another shot, but every time it had charged up enough, the Banshee would perform a barrel roll and he would have to abort the shot to save ammo.

"It's still loading! Shit!" Maiple cried, desperately clicking the triggers to no effect. The Banshee began releasing a rain of burning plasma. Tanner's driving was preventing the majority, but a few were still hitting. The rear bumper fell off as it was hit and partially melted. Then the Banshee exploded in the blue ball of plasma that was typical of covenant technology. Maiple glanced over his shoulder, only to find Corporal Hammond had the same expression as he did. Confusion.

"But..." the Corporal started. Then a second Warthog flew over the crest of the hill behind them, banging slightly as it hit the ground.

"Oorah!" the gunner yelled as his Guass Cannon charged up another shot.

"I _thought _you would need some help Sarge," the driver laughed as he sped past, drifting around so they were heading back the way they came. "There's some Ghosts up here that we could use some help with." And then they were gone.

"Well? What are you waiting for Tanner? Chinese New Year? Let's go join the party!" Tanner swerved around and followed them back to the base where twenty or thirty Ghosts and three Wraiths had stationed themselves.

"Shit!" the gunner yelped before their Warthog exploded, its wheels flying off almost comically. The flaming wreckage rolled a few times before coming to a halt. The Wraith turned to face Maiple's team.

"Sir...?" Tanner said uneasily, the tyres skidding slightly as he wrestled with the steering wheel. Maiple snarled as he fired his missiles at the Covenant Tank. It tried to hover aside, but was too slow and it was utterly destroyed by the rockets. Maiple spotted at least three unidentifiable Warthogs also scattered around the field.

"Sergeant... Maiple... Delta Squad... Base is... –run by Covenant... Immediate assistance... If you're hearing this... help..." the stuttering message was interrupted frequently with static as it came over Maiple's comms. He leaned down to Tanner.

"Get us back to the –" The Base in front of them exploded in a blinding ball of fire, sending a shockwave that knocked over even the Covenant vehicles. Maiple's Warthog rolled, sending Maiple flying. He tumbled across the ground, his standard issue marine helmet flying off his head despite the straps. He landed with an 'oof' before he could finally groan in pain and begin to pick himself up.

One of the Wraiths had been destroyed by one of the other Warthog teams, but the final one was only damaged. "Not... good," he grunted. It swivelled to face him before a superheated beam of red light smashed into it, finishing it off. Its destruction was tiny compared to the still on-going fireball that was once Firebase Striker. Corporal Hammond crawled out of the Warthog wreckage, grunting in pain and clutching his side. He leaned on his Spartan Laser, trying to catch his breath. "Tanner...?" Maiple asked. Hammond shook his head.

"Neck snapped like a twig," he spat grimly. "Guess there's only so much a roll cage can do, right?" Maiple slid his Battle Rifle towards him, before shouldering it.

"Let's get outta here. There's nothing left for us."

"But sir, there might be other survivors!" Hammond protested. Maiple strutted towards him and slid an arm around his shoulders.

"They'll have to make their own way. Right now, we have to concentrate on getting you to a medic, or at least somewhere safe where I can examine you." Hammond sighed and nodded begrudgingly. He leaned on Maiple as he limped along to the treeline which could provide limited cover. They collapsed, leaning against a tree once they deemed themselves far enough away.

They lay there for a few hours until finally, a crackling call came through.

"Say again, this is Sierra twenty-nine thirty-six. If there are any survivors out there, please respond. I still have enough space for three more passengers."

"This is Sergeant Maiple. I'm here with Corporal Hammond. Do you have a medic on board?"

"Yes sir. I'm locking on to your IFF now. Get ready for pick-up at these co-ordinates." A small blue marker appeared on Hammond's visor. He pointed in the direction they had to go. They stumbled over to where a Falcon was descending until it hovered about half a metre off the ground. Two marines inside reached out to pull Hammond up while the third opened up a medkit. The two marines offered Maiple their hands, and he gladly accepted the help. He sighed as he leaned back in his seat, only half paying attention to his surroundings.

"What the _fuck _just happened?" he demanded, strangely calm-sounding. The medic, without looking up from her work, began her explanation.

"A new Covenant has risen. A splinter-group or something. They call themselves the 'Storm Covenant'."

"Great," Maiple groaned. "More alien bastards to kill."


	18. Chapter 17: Shadow Games

"God dammit Daniel, you're late!"

"Sorry Zack. Thelya wasn't feeling too good," Daniel murmured as he gently shut the wooden door behind him. The dimly lit shack was full of watchful eyes as he took a seat.

"I thought something had happened to you!" Weights snapped, only angry out of concern for him. He sighed, then took the seat next to Daniel, though they were hardly seats. Old wooden crates that were relatively comfortable was a better description. The sentry ducked inside, revealing the black night sky for a second, before the door swung silently shut behind him. Daniel shivered at the blast of cold air. Lieutenant Frederick Gornz stood and put himself in the centre of the room.

"As the highest ranking officer here, it is my pleasure to address the fifth Earthen Ambassador Council Meeting. I would just like to start off by saying: for those of you who keep bringing up the matter of bodyguards, we already covered that last time, and the majority voted no. So, that aside, we have a new concern. Daniel." Daniel blinked, then his face contorted in anger.

"What?" he demanded. Lieutenant Gornz turned to face him calmly.

"Daniel. Many of us are worried. You are married to a Sangheili. We might have to suspend your time as a member of this council."

"WHAT?" Daniel growled, standing up. Gornz held out a hand to him.

"Daniel, calm yourself. You know how important it is that this treaty doesn't fail. Therefore, we must keep ourselves safe, hence these meetings. We need to keep these a secret from the Sangheili for various reasons, and I just doubt your ability to partake anymore. Thelya could easily follow you here, that is if you haven't told her about it already."

"You son of a bitch. You think I'm that stupid? If I didn't think I would be able to make it, I would contact someone."

"There is also the fact that your opinion is greatly swayed by the one you're married to. Your interests become one, and you get to see things their way more. We cannot have this. It would contradict the whole purpose of holding these in private. We don't need the influence of Sangheili compromising our decisions to suit them. And she's lied to you once, who knows what other rumours she's feeding you? And I know I'm not the only one who's thinking this."

"Lieutenant, that's not fair. You know as well as I do –" Kath tried, but Gornz whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at her.

"As for you, you're on a fine line yourself. I don't like the look of this 'Lanai' thing. It's okay to have friends, but try to keep it at that. God knows we can't lose everyone to these Elites." He slowly turned around on the spot, making eye contact with each and every member. "Now. We will have a vote. All who are in favour of expelling Daniel from this council raise your hands?" A few hands went up, tentatively at first, then bolder as more were raised. "All who object?" Pete and Kath, among others, raised their hands. But there were noticeably less people. "I'm sorry Daniel. The risk of you compromising this council is too great. Your feelings for the Elites are too strong." Daniel glared at him, then left without another word.

"You do know you're an asshole, right?" Pete asked casually, quirking an eyebrow.

"You're creating a divide," Ambassador Grey agreed. "The last thing we need right now is to start picking fights with each other." They both stood and headed for the door, Pete tipping an imaginary hat as he did.

"Clearly you don't understand how love works," Kath pointed out. "Though that's probably because no woman in their right mind would ever fall for a man like you. Good night." Soon she was gone too. Gornz took a barrage of insults from individual members until just over a quarter of the humans had vacated the room. The room remained silent for a minute, before finally Gornz turned to Weights.

"Sergeant Weights. I heard you were meeting a Sangheili at a restaurant. Aren't you going to storm off too?"

"You know, I wasn't planning on it. But if you're going to be a dick about it, then sure. See ya." Weights got to his feet, but paused at the door. "Oh, and about what you said about having friends? Clearly you are _not _okay with it, but that's okay, you're just jealous that no one's ever found it in their hearts to even _pretend_ to be yours."

"Real smooth sir," another marine commented, before exiting the room also. Gornz sighed and rubbed his forehead warily.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright, I'm bringing 'er down! Brace yourself; I lost most of my landing gear in a scrape with a Phantom," The pilot called back to them.

"Thanks marine," Sergeant Maiple said gratefully. He clung to the overhead railing tightly as the vehicle swayed dangerously, before finally thumping onto the ground. He hopped out, the rotors above twirling to a stop, Corporal Hammond and his medic quick to follow. They moved off towards a medical tent that had been set up amongst many other tents to form a large camp. A small tower stretched out of the ground in the centre of the clearing, covered in a few communication dishes and aerials, complete with a few computer consoles at the bottom. "What's the situation?" Maiple asked a fellow Sergeant.

"All that's left of Hammerhead Outpost is a Transport Hog, complete with six marines, a few weapon crates and about a week's food supplies. That's all we could salvage. Us at Fiosco, we got eight Hogs; two Gauss, two Transports and four Standards. We have two month's supply of food and water, forty-six crates of various munitions, three Falcons and an Assault Pelican. We managed to set up this communication relay, but there'll be nothing near enough to pick up our signal. We're down to three hundred men, about twenty injured and not enough medical supplies to heal them. We're still waiting on six squads we contacted though, and rumour is there's an ODST squad from Hammerhead still out there." Maiple nodded thoughtfully.

"Yee-haw! Y'all are gonna wanna take a look at this!" a cheerful voice called out over the comms. Maiple and the Sergeant slowly turned to face where a slight rumbling noise was to be heard. Crashing out from the treeline, barely skidding to a halt before it demolished someone's tent, was one big-ass tank.

"An M850 Main Battle Tank. But you can call 'er the 'Grizzly'," an ODST quipped as he hopped of one of the treads. "Haven't seen one of these around in... well, forever!" Maiple stared down the twin barrels of the tank's main gun and let out a low whistle.

"Hell of a find you have there," he commented. The ODST who had spoken trotted up to him.

"Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Hitch of the ODST division. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Maiple shook hands with the man.

"Master Sergeant Harry Maiple, and the pleasure's all mine sir." The duo started off to the centre of the camp.

"So..." Alfred started. "What's the situation?"

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Thelya groaned and pressed herself up off the empty bed.

"Daniel?" she yawned. She plodded out into the kitchen, where Daniel was sitting with a look of concern on his face. He was staring out the window and didn't notice her approach. "Is something wrong?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. His face instantly brightened to a grin when he saw her.

"Morning sleepyhead," Daniel greeted her. "I thought you'd never wake up." Thelya cocked her head at him and stifled another yawn.

"What?" she inquired blearily. Daniel shook his head, smiling.

"It's eleven o'clock. You don't usually sleep in so late," he elaborated, then frowned slightly. "You look kinda tired. Maybe you should go back to bed?" Thelya took a seat at the table.

"Daniel, I have had far more sleep than is enough. Besides, I do believe there is an important Council Meeting today?"

"That's tomorrow Thelya."

"Oh... I suppose you are right; I am rather tired. A good walk will get me going, so how about it?" Daniel stood and offered her his hand.

"With you? Always. You sure you don't want breakfast first?" Thelya shook her head as she accepted the hand.

"No, I am still feeling a little ill... though the fresh air will do me good, yes?"

"Yeah," Daniel agreed as they exited their home and began down the street. "May as well give Yuni a visit while we're out," he suggested. "I haven't seen her since... you know..." Thelya nodded.

"It sounds like a good idea," she assured him. A few minutes later, Daniel was knocking on her door. There was a brief shuffling sound from inside, then the door creaked open and Yuni appeared, looking quite scuffed up and wearing a simple robe rather than her armour, which was quite unusual for her. Then again, who knows what she liked to wear when she was alone. She slicked back the feathers of her crest as she gazed at Daniel with her beady eyes.

"Good morning?" Yuni said, sounding confused and tired.

"Hi Yuni," Daniel responded brightly. "Just wanted to drop by, see how you're doing."

"I'm fine thank you. Uh... now's not a great time, I'm actually in the middle of something... could you come back later?"

"Sure," Daniel smiled, sounding a little disappointed. "No biggie... Is that Pete's helmet?" Daniel pointed at the object in question, which was sitting casually on Yuni's table.

"Uh... yeah. He left it behind at the diner last night."

"You and Pete were at a diner together last night?" Daniel was curious now, peering at Yuni with slight amusement.

"Yes... It wasn't a date or anything! Just two friends... eating... together..." Yuni trailed off, a slight tinge of red appearing on her cheeks. Thelya and Daniel shared a look before glancing back towards her. "It's not like it would be a bad thing if I liked him anyway! You guys _married _each other, it's not like me and Pete are any different. Not that I do like him! Not at all – I mean, he's a good friend but I would never...!" Yuni babbled, finally running out of breath, looking rather exasperated.

"Hey y'all, what's going on?" Daniel and Thelya spun round, coming face to face with Pete.

"Perhaps we should leave these two alone Daniel..." Thelya suggested with a wink.

"That would be wise..." Daniel agreed as they inched away, broad smiles plastered on their faces. "Though it'll make for an interesting conversation with Kath." They both walked away, laughing and joking about the scene they had just witnessed. Pete stared after them in bemusement.

"Okay... I know those two aren't normal, but even for them, that was _weird._" He turned back to Yuni. "So, how ya been Yuni?"


	19. Chapter 18: Love, War

**A/N: Due to a recent request I will be putting in line breaks now when I change POV! Yay! Thanks for the review; it was very helpful for me. I'll probably go back and edit the rest of the story too. Also, there is an urgent matter upcoming. I have received a few votes about Thelya getting pregnant, but not many people participated in this voting. So if you want your vote to be counted, say something in the reviews of this chapter (also those who have already voted, re-vote in this chapter to make it easier for me).  
Thanks,  
CrazyBirdMan59 (who else?)**

Lieutenant Hitch shielded his eyes with a hand as he gazed out towards the setting sun.

"Okay," he said finally, hopping down from the mound to face his men. "Here's the plan: Those Phantoms are refuelling, so they won't be off the ground for another hour or so. As soon as they begin loading up, we attack while they're disorganised. We take the ships and fly to the nearest human colony."

"So, we've given up on communications?" Maiple inquired. Hitch nodded gravely.

"Aye. There aren't any human inhabited planets this close to Sangheili's system. We might not make it, but it's our best shot." Maiple nodded and sat down on the ground.

"So... we wait."

"Aye," Hitch agreed, sitting down opposite him.

~~~~~~~~~~ () ~~~~~~~~~

Daniel sat down on the plush sofa and placed his feet on the low coffee table in front of him. The Sangheili had begun moving humans out of their temporary base and into more permanent lodgings, and it seemed this was Kath's. Thelya slapped his leg in mock scorn as she sat down next to him.

"Daniel, you are so rude. Get your feet off Katherine's table," she scolded him. Daniel shrugged.

"She won't mind," he assured her. Kath came back into the room with a tray of tea.

"Feet off the table Daniel," she ordered as she set the beverages down. Daniel obliged, leaning forward to pick up his cup. He leaned back again and took a sip.

"So, what you been up to lately?" he asked curiously.

"The only thing _to_ do. Sit around doing nothing between Council Meetings. But Lanai's been showing me around town, so that's become a thing," Kath answered honestly.

"I heard that you and Lanai have engaged in courting. I wish to congratulate you on your choice; Lanai is a fine warrior, and a very compassionate man," Thelya commented. Kath almost choked on her tea.

"What?" she spluttered.

"Well, you had dinner last night. And he has been showing you around town. You spend quite a bit of time with him."

"That doesn't mean we're dating!" Kath exclaimed, a little annoyed.

"Then where did you get those flowers?" Thelya pointed to a shiny blue vase containing three white flowers that comprised of intricate flowing patterns and were speckled with golden flakes. Daniel cocked his head and wondered if they grew like that naturally.

"Lanai gave them to me... but that still doesn't mean we're dating!" Thelya shook her head with a sad smile on her face.

"Oh poor, poor Katherine. You really do not know much about Sangheili, do you?" Kath narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. Thelya sighed. "When a Sangheili is interested in another, they will offer them three Queiski Flowers, as a message. If presented to the face, and the other accepts, they are accepting the offer, and they will then court each other. This usually involves meals together, such as dinner, going out for walks to secluded areas together and other such romantic activities. If all goes well, they will marry. One will usually propose to the other after three days to a week. If the other is not quite ready to answer, the process will continue for another three days to a week. If the other does not give an answer then, then it will be classed as a 'no' and they will seek out other potential mates."

Thelya let the information sink in, before dropping the next bomb on her, even though it was obvious now. "Katherine, Lanai has an interest in you. He thinks you have accepted him as a potential mate, and it is only a matter of time before he asks you to wed him."

~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"Hammond, prepare to fire that Laser on my mark. We need to time this right," Maiple whispered as they peered at the Covenant forces scurrying about beneath them. They were lying flat on their bellies on a low ridge, staring at where the refuelling Phantoms were getting prepped for take-off, but the crews were still gathering troops and supplies. Hammond hefted the Spartan Laser resting on his shoulder and nodded. "Three..." Maiple glanced over to where Hitch and his ODST team were waiting. "Two..." He cocked his Battle Rifle. "One... Get ready!"

"SIRS! NO!" Maiple dropped his rifle, startled. One of the technicians from the base jogged over to him, puffing and red-faced. "We... found a signal... not on the usual frequency..." The techy rested his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

"Sergeant, what's the hold-up?" Hitch demanded over the comms.

"Lieutenant, the techs have found a line. We may not have to shoot our way out of here after all," Maiple replied. Hitch nodded and began making his way back to the camp. Maiple met him at the makeshift radio tower where two other techies were waiting.

"We have no idea whose they are, but someone's dropped a string of satellites along this path," one explained as he traced his finger along a line of blue dots on a screen. "On one end: Earth. On the other: Sangheilios. Apparently someone's established communication with Sangheilios, because those satellites are definitely human."

"What are our options?" Hitch demanded.

"Well... we could hail Sangheilios and hope it's not them attacking us, or we could play it safe by speaking to Earth, though it'll take a few minutes to get the signal through, and a few days for any evacuation vessel to arrive."

"This entire planet could be glassed by then," Maiple put in. Hitch stroked his chin as he considered their situation.

"Maiple's right. Either way has a chance of us ending up dead, but from what I've seen, it looks like this 'Storm Covenant' isn't a fully operational military group, which means they don't have the full resources of Sangheilios with them, thus they are probably traitors and aren't sanctioned by the Sangheili people."

"Sangheilios it is then," a techy shrugged, before tapping in a few things into the console. "The mic's all yours sir."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Thelya gave Daniel an odd sideways glance for the third time that evening.

"Okay, what's up?" Daniel sighed.

"What do you mean Daniel?" Thelya asked innocently, though he detected another emotion there. Fear? Concern? He couldn't tell.

"I mean, you've been acting strange for the past two or three hours. What's up?" Thelya paused, prompting Daniel to stop walking to. They were standing on the front porch of their home as the suns made their decent towards the orange horizon. Daniel stared into her eyes, making her avert hers quickly.

"Daniel... do not get mad but... I... I am..."

"Arbiter!" They both whirled around to see who had shouted. A Sangheili Major clad in fluorescent orange armour jogged over to them. "Daniel," he gave the human a nod. "We have received an urgent transmission that requires your attention. Both of you." Daniel and Thelya exchanged a look, then followed the Sangheili back to the small UNSC outpost. Pete and Kath greeted them at the door. Kath led them to the communications room and wordlessly pressed the 'Play' button on the small radio. The static-filled message began to play.

"... This is Lieu...tenant Hitch of the... NSC outpost... on the planet... in need of _immediate_ assistance..." Another voice interrupted him.

"Shit sir! The... glassing the planet!"

"How long?"

"... about an hour before they... to us..."

"We need Evac now! Anyone... please respond!"

"Sir, the electro-magnetic... disturbances are... losing the signal..." Static filled the air. The occupants of the room remained silent for a minute.

"Did he say... glassing?" Kath asked, wearing the same shocked expression as everyone else. The Sangheili Major cleared his throat.

"We pinpointed the location of the transmission... Rtas has his ship ready to leave immediately if you need it Arbiter," he informed Thelya. She nodded.

"Daniel, round up some of your people. Those humans are going to want to see some friendly faces. And it sounds as though we may need some good soldiers too." Daniel hurriedly left for the recreation room where he knew he would find most of the UNSC soldiers.

"Weights! Quarter! Heit! With me, we have an urgent matter," Daniel called out, picking out three of the marines he knew best. Lieutenant Gornz approached him.

"Daniel, is there something I need to know about?" he asked calmly.

"Yeah," Daniel sneered. "That transmission we received? Thelya's mounting a rescue mission, and we need a few marines to help out."

"When do we leave?" Gornz inquired, grabbing for his helmet.

"_We_?" Daniel repeated, then laughed. "Oh no sir. I don't think you understand. Thelya doesn't want _you _on her mission. She wants who I choose."

"Daniel, I'm afraid you don't have the authority for that. I am your ranking officer," Gornz pointed out cockily. Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder in mock reassurance.

"Fred, you know important it is that this treaty doesn't fail. Therefore, we must keep you safe, hence you staying here. I'm sorry Fred. The risk of you compromising this mission is too great. Your feelings about my relationship with the Sangheili are too strong." Daniel turned and left the room, a smile plastered on his face as the three marines he chose trailed after him. Gornz just stood, frozen from the shock he received at what had just transpired.

"Son of a _bitch_," he muttered to himself once the four were gone.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"This doesn't look good Lieutenant. Did you get the message through?" Sergeant Maiple asked, lowering the field binoculars from his face and turning to his superior. He was standing on the top of a tall mountain that acted as the south wall of a large green canyon below. In said canyon was an army of Storm Covenant, moving slowly towards them.

"Aye. But we have no idea if it got through. We lost the signal before we could get a response. Why the hell is the Covenant doing? They glass half the planet, then send an army to intercept us? What are they up to?"

"They glassed the forest we were in, but stopped as soon as we came out here. Maybe it was their plan to block our communications with the radiation?" Maiple suggested.

"I doubt it. Why bother sending this lot when they could finish the job in half the time?"

"Maybe they ran out of glassing fuel or whatever?"

"No. Sergeant, I don't think you see what I'm getting at. Some of the campaigns the Spirit of Fire fought, we gained the upper hand because the Covenant was unwilling to desecrate Forerunner artefacts. What if there's an artefact here? What if it's a weapon?" Maiple shrugged.

"Either way, I count four Wraiths, sixteen Ghosts, three Revenants and seven Spectres. On top of that, there's got to be at least five hundred foot soldiers. Whether there's an artefact or not, we're fighting these guys. So what are we going to do?" Hitch pointed towards part of the mountain they were on, around the curve of the wall.

"Right there, that hill isn't too steep. The Covenant will use it to get to our position. If we can set up some defences there first, we might be able to catch them by surprise _and _have the higher ground. Those boulders will provide much needed cover, plus the sandbags we have. They haven't deployed any aircraft for whatever reason, but we have Falcons, Pelicans and a Hornet. More advantage for us. If we play this right, we'll have ourselves an easy victory." Maiple slid is Battle Rifle off his back and cocked it.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We have no time to lose!"


	20. Chapter 19: Heroes' Demise

**A/N: Pregnancy has been confirmed :)  
Have an awesome day, hope you like the chapter,  
Love your dearest author,  
CrazyBirdMan59 (of course)**

Sergeant Maiple hoisted himself up onto the small boulder and lay down on his belly. He rested his Battle Rifle on the rock before him and peered down the scope.

"They're setting up Shade Turrets... damn!" he muttered through the comms. He glanced over to where Hitch was crouched behind a small shrub. Ahead, he could see many other marines behind cover and knew there were many more behind him. "You sure you don't want to hang back? We wouldn't want to lose our highest-ranking officer."

"Yeah? _We _also wouldn't like to miss out on kickin' some Covenant ass, so buckle up and wait for the signal." Maiple sighed and returned his attention to his scope. The Shade Turrets flared to life. A few Grunts waddled ahead, obviously scouting the area. Maiple cursed under his breath. It wouldn't be much of an ambush if those Covies walked another three metres. He saw the marines closest to the wandering aliens tense and get ready to attack, regardless of whether the signal had been sent or not. "Hold your fire marines," Hitch ordered.

"But sir..." one of them whispered. "A few more seconds and our position will be compromised!"

"Hold your fire," Hitch repeated sternly. One of the Grunts sniffed at the air. "Hold..." It raised its Plasma Pistol and crept towards the nearest marine's rock cautiously. "Hold..." The marine shuffled slightly around the rock, trying to conceal himself. "Hold..." The Grunt paused and snuffled again, then whipped up its gun and ran as fast as its stubby legs would allow. "FIRE!" The marine leaped out and destroyed the Grunt's face with his Assault Rifle, just as the technicians finished setting up the five mounted machine gun turrets, which the operators swiftly put to use, tearing apart all of the closest hostiles. The Covenant didn't take long to recover, charging into action. Maiple fired burst after burst of bullets from his Assault Rifle, scoring perfect headshots on Grunts and Skirmishers.

Lieutenant Hitch sprung out from behind his shrub with a Grenade Launcher. He launched a shot at one of the Shade Turrets. The confused Grunt stared at the capsule, wondering what it was for. Hitch chuckled then released the trigger, causing the EMP charged grenade at explode, stunning the Turret and allowing for an ODST to punch the Grunt's head, throw the creature out, then climb in. He turned the heavy plasma fire on the Covenant.

A Brute wielding a Spiker swung the hefty blades mounted on the gun at Hitch, but he rolled aside and bashed the Brute's head with his weapon, before throwing the Grenade Launcher aside and pulling his Shotgun off his back. With an explosive _bang_, the Brute's blood sprayed across the ground. "Yeah! That's how we do it!" Hitch laughed. He whipped out his Bowie Knife and slit the throat of another Brute that was trying to sneak up behind him. By now, all of the marines had joined the fight and gunfire, bullets and plasma alike, was everywhere. The marines grouped up in the middle of the hill and combined their fire into the funnel that was the narrow hill. Maiple heard a faint buzzing noise, then a crash as a tree exploded in a ball of blue plasma energy. The buzzing came again, another shot from a Wraith came sailing overhead in an enormous arc, narrowly avoiding the marines.

"Lieutenant, what are we going to do about that Wraith?" Maiple yelled. Only one Wraith could fit in the tiny warzone, but he knew once it was taken out, another would take its place. Hitch considered this for a moment.

"Think you can take out that Grunt in the turret?" Hitch inquired. Maiple let the spent clip clatter out of his gun, before slapping a fresh one in and clicking the bolt back into place.

"Yeah, why?" Instead of answering, Hitch motioned for the nearest soldier to follow him. The two ran at the giant tank, ignoring all of the few Covenant that turned their weapons on them.

"The guy's crazy," Maiple muttered to himself, before nailing the turreter in the face with a single burst. The body slumped, then toppled out of the vehicle. Hitch scooped up his Grenade Launcher as he ran past, slapping a fresh capsule in as he did. He fired, and the grenade bounced once before skidding underneath the Wraith. The tank swivelled to face them, preparing its boost to ram them, but Hitch released the trigger. With a crackle of energy, the Wraith thumped onto the ground. Hitch clung to the front, then punched a fist through the hatch and heaved it open. He hauled the driver out, making sure to blast him with his Shotgun too, then climbed inside. The marine he brought along caught on and climbed gracefully into the turret.

"We prefer to call it 'creative'!" a marine, Corporal Jenson as Maiple's HUD suggested, yelled at him. The UNSC Wraith spun around and floated off to where the other Wraiths were waiting. Maiple dived aside and rolled to the sandbags where Jenson was. Seconds later, a Plasma Grenade exploded and took out a chunk of Maiple's boulder where he had just been. Maiple pulled the pin out of a grenade and tossed it over his shoulder.

"FRAG OUT!" he yelled. The explosion sent bits of Covenant and weapons, as well as dirt and debris, flying back at them.

"Heh. Not so creative, but effective!" Jenson laughed. He grabbed one of the Needlers that had been sent flying and flicked it, letting the Needles inside pop out into the ammunition chambers. He glanced at the lethal pink spikes before taking his SMG off his belt and holding that in his other hand.

"You sure you can handle them both?" Maiple inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

"You'll never know if you never try!" Jenson jumped out from behind his cover and pulled both triggers. The pink Needles instantly veered towards his enemies, homing in and exploding a few seconds after impact.

"Corporal – look out!" Maiple cried. Jenson half-turned, but Maiple knew he would be too late. He threw his body at Jenson's and sent them both tumbling down the hill. The giant slab of metal slammed into Maiple's old boulder, breaking it completely in half. Jenson groaned and picked himself up.

"Shit!" he cursed. The Hunter jerked its head to glare at him, before swinging its shield at him again. Jenson was ready this time, he dived out of the way, landing in a low crouch and making the Hunter stumble forward when its blow didn't connect. He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead, his helmet long gone, and quickly flicked his eyes over to Maiple. He was just in time to see a Zealot Elite yank its Energy Sword out of his bleeding torso, laughing sadistically. "Son of a bitch!" Jenson shouted accusingly. He charged at the Elite, taking down its shields with his SMG. The Elite stumbled back, then Jenson slammed the top of the Needler into its neck. Yeah, the spiky side. The pink Needles snapped inside the Zealot's neck, causing blue blood to flow down its neck before its head was removed by a pink explosion. Panting, Jenson rolled aside and picked up the fallen Energy Sword. The Hunter had backed away and was now pointing its Fuel Rod Cannon arm at him. The weapon glowed green as it charged up.

Jenson stood his ground, staring the Hunter down. The ball of green plasma erupted from the Hunter's arm, and with lightning reaction time, Jenson ducked and let the shot sail overhead. He sprinted at the Hunter, who swung its shield at him, trying to bat him aside. Jenson sidestepped it and grabbed its helmet, using it as leverage to flip over and land behind the Hunter. Before it could so much as grunt, he thrust the Energy Sword into its back. He rushed back to Maiple's side. "Sarge!" he cried.

"You... fool," Maiple coughed, blood splattering on the ground next to him. "Hunters... travel... in pairs!" Jenson's expression changed from a look of confusion into shock and horror. Then the second Hunter's shield connected with his back, emitting a loud _crack_ as bones were broken. Jenson's body slammed into a nearby tree trunk, then slumped to the ground.

~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~

"Out out OUT!" Hitch screamed, slipping and sliding on the smooth surface of the Wraith as he scrambled to abandon it. The Wraith crackled, then exploded as Hitch and Private Sanders thudded into the dirt. The final Wraith turned on them, its gunner history, but the cannon on top more than capable of killing them both. "Private, a grenade?" Hitch held out a hand. He knew he had only seconds before that cannon recharged. Sanders slapped a Frag Grenade into Hitch's open palm. Hitch ran at the Wraith, then jumped just before it boosted towards him. He banged against the metal of its shell, rolled across the smooth blue metal, then fell off onto the ground at the back of the tank. He forced his aching body to get up, then heaved himself up onto the back of the Wraith. He shoved his fist inside the back plate, then flicked the pin out of the grenade, withdrew his fist and hopped off the doomed vehicle.

Hitch dusted himself off as he strolled away from the exploding vehicle. "Thanks Private. You done good." He placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the distant battle. The entire area around them was covered in rubble from destroyed Covenant vehicles. "You think we should go back and give those fellas a hand?" he asked.

"Sir, yes sir," Sanders replied.

"Great. That's what I like to hear." Then there was a _thud_ as three giant Brutes, their helmets adorned with ridiculous crests, dropped down in front of the two humans. All three raised a hefty Gravity Hammer at them.

"Uhhhh... sir?" Sanders said, sounding more than a little worried.

"Don't worry Private, you go help the others. I'll see to these guys." Hitch adjusted his ODST helmet and smirked. "Come on then, you big dumb apes, come get some."

**A/N: Sorry if this battle seems to be dragging on a bit, but I promise it will be resolved in the next chapter. Which means if I plan on making it incredibly long, at least you'll get a VERY beefy chapter, right? Oh yeah, and for those of you waiting for more lemons, they _are _coming, please be patient. Until next time, this has been CrazyBirdMan59, live from...  
LOL sorry I'm weird. Bye.**


	21. Chapter 20: Conclusion

Hitch clicked another shell into his Shotgun, refilling what he had spent. The Brutes bristled and growled, staring him down. He slipped his Magnum out of his pocket and cocked it, before slipping it back in its holster. He whistled casually and wondered why the Brutes weren't charging at him like was usual for their kind. Then one moved. It shuffled slightly to the left. Then the one on the right moved slightly to the right. The one in the middle stayed where it was. _Shit,_ Hitch realised. _They're gonna flank me._

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Private Sanders hoisted himself up onto a higher branch. He scrambled to get higher up the tree, all the while keeping an eye on the raging beast below him. The Hunter bashed its shield against the base of the tree. Then again. It began to shake with the impacts. Sanders gripped his DMR tightly as he considered his situation.

"Hello up there! Got into a spot of trouble have ya?" a voice called from below. The Hunter grunted in confusion and turned around, just in time to see the two Rockets consecutively slam into his face. A marine jogged over. "Tough bastards aren't they?" Sanders dropped onto the ground and laughed nervously. "Lance Corporal Jess Lawson, pleasure to meet ya." Corporal Lawson held out a hand, which Sanders gratefully shook. Lawson dropped her Rocket Launcher and picked up an abandoned Storm Rifle.

"Those things are new," Sanders commented as they walked back to the heat of the battle.

"Yeah, seems the Covenant has gotten a few upgrades," Lawson agreed. Sanders shot a Grunt in the arm, making it recoil, then the chest, then the chest again, making it tumble to the ground, dead. Lawson fired a few bursts at an Elite, taking down its shields, allowing for Sanders to nail it in the head a few times.

"Their armour is weird though. You think they might be rogues?" he asked.

"Or a splinter faction," Lawson suggested as she bashed a Grunt away with her weapon. Sanders tossed his empty DMR aside and snatched up a Carbine.

"BANSHEES INBOUND!" he screamed. He pulled Lawson to the ground with him as the vehicles sailed overhead, releasing bolts of explosive green plasma into the marines. One of purple vehicles exploded, followed closely by a second. The Grizzly Tank rolled out from its hiding place in the bushes, firing another two rounds at the other Banshees. An Elite kicked Sanders in the chest as he tried to get up, but Lawson smacked it over the head with her gun, then fired at it until the Storm Rifle overheated.

"Ow! Son of a bitch that's hot!" she complained, shaking her hand in pain as the gun vented its excess heat. Sanders laughed, killing three Grunts within a second of one another.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

A single bead of sweat rolled down Hitch's forehead then into his eye, and for the first time he found himself hating his ODST helmet. He blinked furiously to try and clear his vision, but couldn't wipe his eyes because of the visor. Out of the corner of his eyes he could still see the two Brutes circling around him. Soon they would attack from all fronts and he would have no way of stopping them. He charged at the Brute before him, firing his Shotgun as he went. The first one took down its shield, the second made it stagger, and the third finally made it fall. Hitch whirled around and rolled beneath the Hammer he knew was going to be swinging at him. He felt the Hammer pass overhead and finished his roll in a crouch, behind the attacking Brute. In front of him the second Brute was preparing to attack. He stood up and turned, jumping backwards. The Hammer from the first Brute buried itself in the ground, allowing Hitch to run up it. He jumped high over the Brute's head, and landed behind him again with a soft thud. The second Brute had gained too much momentum to stop, and his Hammer crushed the first Brute's face.

The dead body crashed to the ground. Hitch grinned and pumped his Shotgun. He fired at the Brute, but it batted his Shotgun aside with a backhand swing of its Hammer. Hitch jumped at it and wrapped his arms around its neck, using his momentum to swing around and cling to its back piggy-back style. He whipped out his Magnum and emptied the clip into the Brute's neck. Like freshly cut timber, the Brute fell to the dirt. Hitch dusted himself off and reloaded his Magnum. He spared his Shotgun a glance, and grimaced when he saw it was bent in half at a right angle. He was glad that he hadn't been hit by that blow. Then he felt a clammy hand close around his neck roughly. He let out a choked cry and squirmed in his attacker's grasp. He was thrown to the ground, allowing him to roll over and see his attacker. The first Brute Chieftain was apparently still alive.

"Well shit," Hitch chuckled. Then the Brute brought his Gravity Hammer down upon him.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

The ground next to Sanders exploded as yet another Plasma Grenade detonated. He pulled Lawson along behind him as he sprinted away with the other retreating marines. The Grizzly tank swivelled its main guns to face the Brute with a Plasma Launcher, but was too late. The four balls of explosive plasma were more than enough to finish off the smoking tank.

"Aaaah!" a marine screamed as he tumbled to the ground, seven pink Needles producing from his back. Another was wordlessly massacred by a single shot from a Beam Rifle.

"The Hogs! Roll out the Hogs!" another marine screeched as he zigzagged, trying to dodge the enemy fire. He was caught on the shoulder by a Plasma Pistol, sending him pivoting on one foot before he collapsed to the ground. The six battle-capable Warthogs burst out from the treeline and immediately the turreters began unloading their munitions.

"Sanders! Lawson! Take those Transport Hogs and get as many injured as you can!" a Gunnery Sergeant yelled at the two retreating marines.

"Yes sir!" they called back in unison. Lawson clambered into the driver seat of one, while Sanders hopped into the passenger seat of the third one. The three vehicles zoomed out back into the field.

"Stop here!" Sanders yelled at his driver. The Warthog screeched to a stop and Sanders hurriedly loaded the marine who had been hit by the Plasma Pistol earlier into the back.

"Do you have any medical training?" the driver screamed at him.

"No!" Sanders replied honestly.

"I do! Take the wheel!" The driver scrambled into the back with the injured soldier, so Sanders slid into the driver's seat. "Try not to shake it around too much!" A Plasma Grenade exploded nearby, making the Warthog rock on its suspension.

"Sure! Would you like me to whisk you away on a unicorn while I'm at it? It's a fucking warzone here!" Sanders slammed his heel on the acceleration, speeding off to the next injured marine he could see. "You're up!" The medic in the back hopped off and quickly carried another soldier on board.

"I got him! Go!" Sanders dutifully resumed his drive, going in circles and just generally avoiding fire until the medic gave him a sign that he was ready for the next pickup. "Private! Hunter up ahead!" Sanders yanked the wheel, making the Warthog jerk and flip sideways, flying over the Hunter and landing in a dizzying roll, finally coming to a rest on its side. "Jesus Christ Private!" A Guass Warthog exploded, sending the wreckage tumbling past them. "Private! There's some Covenant moving in on our position!" the medic warned. Sanders cursed.

He looked up at the wreckage of the Guass Warthog, only to find that just the front section had exploded. With a war cry, he sprinted for the ruined vehicle and swung up into the gunner's seat. He swivelled the turret around and blasted the first Hunter in the back. The second one turned around in the time it took for the next shot to charge up. "Hey! Over here!" the medic yelled, running around behind the Hunter, shooting it with his SOCOM. The Hunter turned clumsily, preparing to bat the medic aside, but Sanders slammed another Guass round into its back.

"Haha! Yeah! What a team!" he cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

"Help me flip this damn thing over!" the medic yelled, pushing his shoulder against the Transport Warthog. Sanders hopped down and ran to assist him.

"Gah!" he cried as he was hit in the back by a Concussion Rifle. The medic turned slowly, and found himself faced with twenty Elites and about ten Jackals. He screwed his eyes shut and waited for the pain. There was a faint buzzing sound, then the ground before him exploded. He was thrown back by the shockwave, but when he opened his eyes the Elites and Jackals were gone. Another arcing Wraith round slammed into a bunch of Brutes that were about to maul an ODST.

"What the hell...?" the medic muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"Great shot Daniel," Thelya commented, patting the side of the Wraith he was driving. The army before them was scattering and panicking.

"The traitorous vermin will soon perish," Sangheili Ultra Kenya observed from beside them. Thelya slid herself into the turret.

"Right Daniel. Let us rescue your friends. Brothers, Sisters, ATTACK!" Daniel boosted the Wraith forwards into the crowd of fleeing Covenant, crushing many underneath the hefty vehicle. A Brute with a Fuel Rod Cannon tried to aim its weapon at them, but a shot from one of the many Sangheili Wraiths took care of that. The army of Sangheili people eradicated all of the disorganised and confused Storm Covenant swiftly and efficiently. All the while, the marines had been gathering up in one big group, pointing their weapons at the newcomers. Daniel drove the Wraith right up to them, then stopped just a metre away. Thelya hopped out of the turret and onto the ground. "It is alright humans. We are your allies," she assured them.

"Yeah? We thought the same things about these guys, seconds before they wiped out three UNSC outposts. Why should we trust you?" Lawson demanded, not lowering her Plasma Repeater.

"Because... we currently have sixteen Wraiths and hundreds of Sangheili in a cruiser in low orbit, and you haven't been wiped off the face of this planet," another voice reasoned. Lawson peered around the bulky form of the Arbiter to see a human ODST climbing out of the Wraith. He stood beside the Arbiter and smiled. "Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Sergeant Daniel Masters, and this is my wife, Thelya Vadamee, the Arbiter." There were a few gasps and murmurs, but Daniel ignored them and stuck out his hand. Lawson shook it gingerly, not quite sure what to think anymore.

"You... married... an Elite?" she asked finally, not to mention nervously. She kept flicking her eyes over to Thelya, hoping she hadn't offended the big, strong alien.

"Yeah. Look, are we going to do this now, or are we going to get these wounded the proper care they need?" Lawson nodded, staring at her feet. Daniel turned to leave, but another marine piped up.

"Sir... are we going back to Sangheilios?" he asked. Daniel paused, then called over his shoulder.

"Yes, we are going back to Sangheilios, but as soon as we get there, we'll send for a ship to come from Earth and pick you up. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Lawson answered for the lot of them.

"Oh and, you might want to get used to the idea of interspecies relationships. Just a tip." As he walked away, he was joined by Thelya.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, smiling in amusement.

"By the time we get back, Kath'll be married or something."

"Oh, I do not think so. She and Lanai are too scared to admit their feelings for each other. I do not think we will see them so much as holding hands for another three years," Thelya snorted. Daniel laughed as they boarded their Wraith.


	22. Chapter 21: The Middle Man

**A/N Sorry this chapter is mostly talky-talky, it's just setting up the next few chapters. End A/N**

**Sangheilios,  
A few hours later...**

Daniel pulled the roast Doarmir out of the oven, giving it a quick sniff. _Smells like chicken,_ he concluded, then laughed. _Of course it does. I'll bet it tastes like chicken too, everything tastes like chicken._ He wished Pete was there so that he could share his joke. He knew Thelya wouldn't get it. _Thelya... _Daniel hadn't seen her since they departed from the ship. She said she had an important meeting to attend to.

"Daneel," a voice said, making Daniel jump. He knew who it was even without turning around. There was only one person who pronounced his name like that.

"Yuni." The Jackal padded into view.

"Daniel... I need to talk to you." Daniel set the meal down, letting it cool off, then guided Yuni to the table.

"I'm all ears," he told her. She cocked her head, not quite getting the expression, but gathered its ultimate meaning.

"How does one court a human?" she asked.

"Well, Pete's a really straight-up guy. If you like him, tell him. Then you can –"

"Pete? Who said anything about Pete? I didn't mention Pete. Why bring Pete into this?" Yuni interrupted defensively, making Daniel smile.

"Dating a human is all relative to who you're trying to date, okay? So if you want Pete, this is what you've gotta do..."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Lanai leaned against the door and took a deep breath. _She is the one, I know it._ He raised an arm to knock, then let it fall back to his side again. _But she is human, she will never accept me as a potential mate._

_Knock knock knock_

The sounds were like thunderclaps to Lanai. Sergeant Weights lowered his fist, stepped away from the door, winked at Lanai, then continued on his way down the corridor. Lanai cocked his head. _Why did he..._ The door clicked and opened.

"Oh, hi Lanai," Kath greeted. Lanai started, then quickly turned to face her.

"Good morning Katherine."

"Lanai, it's officially four hours too late to be calling this 'morning'."

"Oh, is it? I did not notice... Katherine, I needed to ask you... I..." Lanai paused to clear his throat. "Do you know where Daniel is?" Kath quirked an eyebrow at him.

"In his house, where else?"

"Ah, well, I was just there a minute ago, I must have just missed him. Thank you, see you later." Lanai straightened his helmet and quickly escaped. He hurried to Daniel's house and knocked on the door.

"Just a minute!" he called from inside. Lanai heard footsteps, then the door swung open. Daniel groaned. "Lanai, you're not going to ask me for love advice are you?"

"Well... I was... not... Yes Daniel, I need your help with Katherine." Daniel sighed, then motioned for Lanai to go inside.

"Come on in. May as well join the party." Lanai walked into the kitchen and was quite surprised to see Yuni sitting at the table.

"Hello... Leenal was it?"

"Lanai," he corrected subconsciously. Daniel took a seat.

"So Daniel, what kind of flowers does Pete like?" Yuni inquired eagerly.

"No, Yuni. _Girls _like flowers. Pete doesn't. Pete likes guns, muscles, cars, guys stuff."

"So I should give Pete a weapon? Would he like a Carbine, or is he more of a Beam Rifle person?" Daniel buried his face in his palm.

"Please tell me you know _something _about humans Lanai, I can't endure much more of this."

"What is a car?" Yuni persisted. "How would I give him muscles? He already has them."

"Give him some exercise equipment," Lanai suggested. Yuni clicked her fingers at him.

"Of course! Pete would love that! Wouldn't he Daniel?" Daniel just groaned.

"I could film this and send it back to Earth. I would make millions. It could be a reality TV show, and every week I bring in a new pair of clueless lovebirds," he commented dreamily.

"I could get Pete a set of weights," Yuni continued, ignoring the human.

"I do not think Sergeant Weights would appreciate being given as a gift. Besides, I do not think a slave would get Pete to become fitter," Lanai reasoned.

"No idiot. No Sergeant Weights. Weights that you lift with your arms, they're like heavy objects which you –"

"YUNI! Please. Get him some weights then, just spare me this torture! Now we've solved that issue, Lanai, what did you need help with?"

"Well, I have courted Katherine, and I would like to wed her," he explained. "I just do not know how to approach the matter. And I fear what her answer will be."

"Well, I can tell you this right now: Call her _Kath_, god knows that if she's been putting up with you calling her 'Katherine' all this time she must _really _like you."

"Enough to become my mate?" Lanai asked hopefully.

"Err... no. Humans like a little more time for commitments like this. But, I can guarantee from what I know already she has feelings for you, and if you stick with it, you'll know when the time is right to ask her."

"But if I wait on a single mate for too long, and she says no, I may be wasting time I could be using to court another potential mate," Lanai protested.

"If you really loved Kath, you wouldn't call the time you spend with her a 'waste of time'. Try thinking less like a robot and more like a living being. That might increase your chances with Kath." Lanai nodded thoughtfully.

"Thank you Daniel. I will remember your words." Lanai left, looking far happier and more confident than he did when he came in. Yuni nodded to Daniel gratefully.

"Thank you." Then she left as well. Daniel got up and seasoned the meal he had been making, before draping a cloth over it. Then there was another knock on the door.

"Ah, finally you're here Thelya," Daniel sighed in relief as he opened the door. Instead, there stood Kath. "Oh. Uh... hi Kath."

"Hi Daniel. Lanai was just here wasn't he?"

"Yeah..."

"What... what did he say to you?"

"Nothing much, why?"

"He came to see me today... but you know how Thelya said he would ask to marry me? Well, he didn't. He just asked where you were, said he tried to find you earlier but I know you've been here since you got back. Does that mean he changed his mind? Doesn't he like me anymore?"

"Kath! Calm down. He thought it was too soon, and didn't want to pressure you into a decision. That's what he was here to talk to me about. Better?" Kath nodded.

"Much. Thank you." She stood there, silent for a moment. "Did you learn anything about him? Like, what he likes to do, what he likes to eat? We have a date tomorrow and I insisted on cooking!"

"Sorry, no. But why don't you ask him – or one of his friends," Daniel added quickly, seeing Kath about to protest.

"Okay. Thanks Daniel, see you round." Daniel watched her walk away, then closed the door.

"Now I know how Cortana felt," he muttered to himself. He just about took a step away from the door when there was another knock. "I swear, if that's Pete..." Daniel opened the door. Pete was leaning in the doorway.

"Hey Daniel... you know lots about Yuni, right?"

"Oh for fuck's sake."

**A/N Yeah, poor Daniel. I hope that chapter was humorous enough to make up for the lack of anything happening. See ya in the next part!  
The famous, wealthy and most handsome writer of them all (I wish)  
~CrazyBirdMan59**


	23. Chapter 22: A New Kind of War

Thelya gently opened the door and stepped inside. She heard a faint noise, and once she investigated it, she found Daniel asleep on the couch, his soft breathing causing the sounds she had heard. She smiled softly and moved into the kitchen, where a meal had been left for her. Half of a roast Doarmir. Daniel had obviously already eaten. Thelya sighed softly and began eating. She wondered how Daniel put up with this, her constantly having to leave and go about to meetings he shouldn't and couldn't know about.

_Though that will not be a problem now... _a voice in her head pointed out. She felt a pang of guilt. Daniel had always been so proud of her... when he found out... She sighed again and rested her weary head on her hand. She suddenly felt very ill, not just because of her roiling emotions... She had kept so many secrets from him, and how stupid she had been to do it. _If he finds out on his own, he will be a lot angrier than he will be if I tell him._

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel woke up with the sunlight glaring in his face. He groaned and rolled of the couch, landing with a _thump_ on the floor. He yawned and rubbed his eyes gently.

"Thelya, you home?" he called.

"In here Daniel," came the reply, from the kitchen. He plodded into the room, only to find Thelya slumped over the kitchen table. Daniel immediately felt worried.

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked as he rushed to her side. He reeled back in surprise as he suddenly realised she was wearing golden armour. "Th-Thelya?" It had to be her. He had recognised her voice.

"Daniel, the High Council has appointed a new Arbiter. I have been deemed unfit for the rank. At least I managed to step down from the position alive, that in itself is an achievement," Thelya chuckled humourlessly.

"Unfit for the rank? Who the hell's idea was that? What makes you any less able than anyone else?" Realisation spread across Daniel's face. "It's because you're a girl, isn't it?"

"No... Yes... Well, that is part of it. Daniel... I was meaning to tell you this before we left but... the Council was having doubts about my ability to represent the Sangheili whilst married to a human. They had a meeting while we were gone, and one human in particular strongly agreed with the Council. He presented a very persuasive case, but that is all I know."

"Gornz you back-stabbing bastard! I'm going to kill that pathetic excuse for a human being!" Daniel roared, and before Thelya could stop him, he was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

There was a knock at Pete's door.

"Just a minute!" he yelled, quickly stepping out of the shower and drying himself off. He pulled on some jeans and a white singlet, then opened the door. "Oh, hey Yuni," he greeted the Jackal at his door. Yuni smiled nervously.

"I brought you a gift," she told him, holding out something that was wrapped crudely in blue paper and bundles of cello tape. Pete grinned and opened it. It was a small dumbbell. He gave Yuni a confused look and said:

"Ah... thanks Yuni. But... why?" He couldn't find a polite way to say it.

"Er, well... To help you build your muscles, not that you're not already muscly! I didn't mean that! You've got to have the best physique out of every human I've seen! If you lived on my planet, you would have females fawning all over you! Not that I'm trying to fawn over you! I would never! I mean, it's not as if you're not attractive..." her ramblings were silenced by a finger on her beak. Pete slid his arm around her waist, pulled her close, then kissed her on the cheek. He gently pushed her chin up so they were staring into each other's eyes.

"I love you too Yuni."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Sergeant Weights whistled boredly as he strolled down the corridor, hands in his pockets.

"Zackary!" a gruff voice called. Weights smiled. He knew that voice well, if the fact that there was only one person who called him "Zackary" wasn't enough. Zack Weights stopped walking and allowed the Sangheili to catch up. "Why are you here, in a hospital of all places?" Quiel Threesta inquired. He didn't sound out of breath in the slightest, even after having to run to catch his human friend.

"I'm paying some of the injured soldiers we picked up a visit. I actually served with a couple of them a while back. Why you need to know?"

"To be honest with you Zackary, I had thought you were lost. I did not realise you were visiting your brothers-in-arms."

"Why are _you _here?" Zack demanded suddenly, "I thought it was dishonourable to come here or whatever?" Quiel sighed dramatically.

"A common misunderstanding of our culture, but I shall lecture you on that at another time. I am awaiting the birth of my sister's child; I wish to see the child with my own eyes before the family comes along and swarms them. But I have a while yet, so may I accompany you?" Zack laughed as he pressed a panel, opening the door before them.

"I suppose some company wouldn't hurt. It'd be good to have someone to talk to if I have to wait for my friends to wake up." The duo wandered into the room, the walls of which were lined with beds. Almost every bed in the room was occupied by UNSC soldiers with varying injuries. Some beds had unscathed comrades kneeling beside them, waiting, hoping. "Sergeant Maiple, how are you?" Zack stared at the man in the bed closest to them. The injured marine shuffled awkwardly, using only his upper body.

"Not good I'm afraid," he replied glumly. "Got into a scrape with a Hunter. Long story short, I'm paralysed from the waist down. But hey, a small price to pay for life, right? At least I'll get a nice retirement mansion, with butlers to wheel me around on a wheel chair, and to serve me hot coffee in the morning." Maiple chuckled. "I guess I should be happy, I never imagined I would leave the navy alive, but here I am, about to be discharged as soon as my ride arrives." He smiled sadly. "Thanks for taking the time to drop by, but I'm not going to be a selfish ol' sod. I'm sure there are other people who'd like your company." Zack nodded, then moved off to try and find his other friends. "Oh!" Maiple called suddenly. "Try to leave the navy in one piece, okay? It'd be nice to have some company in my big mansion, someone to swap war stories with, or whatever the hell the ol' veteran coots do these days."

"I will," Zack promised. Quiel followed silently, noting some of the similarities between his race and Zack's, his respect for the humans growing as he watched the exchange between the two comrades-in-arms.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Lieutenant Gornz bid his friends farewell as he left the restaurant they met at occasionally. He walked back to his home the Sangheili had given him. It was small, single story, and reminded him of a flat back home, but he found it was cosy and had everything he needed. He fished the keys from his pocket, then he was grabbed from behind and his back was slammed into the wall. He smirked when he saw his attacker. He was staring into the rage-filled face of Daniel.

"Good evening Daniel," Gornz said casually. Daniel was still gripping him by the collar of his shirt.

"Gornz you son of a bitch, you just don't know where to draw the line, do you?"

"Now now Daniel, I _am _your superior officer. Stop now, before I have to court-martial you." Daniel slammed his fist into his lieutenant's smug face. He then kneed the man in the stomach and threw him onto the ground. He spat on the winded man.

"Guess what shit-head. I resign." With those words, Daniel stalked off, back home, having relieved some of his rage on the man he hated most.

**A/N: So, things are starting to get a little heated. There will be more drama soon, because that's just who I am. Also, expect to see another M rated chapter *cough cough sex scene cough cough* in the next few chapters. Unless of course you don't want me to, that's cool too. As always, always happy to hear from you (especially when you tell me I've been misspelling Gauss this whole time)!**

**As always,  
~CrazyBirdMan59**


	24. Chapter 23: The Passive & The Aggressive

**The next morning...**

Daniel groaned as there was a knock on the door. He begrudgingly removed himself from Thelya's arms, and stood up, away from their comfortable spot on the couch. For a moment he wondered why it was always _their _door that people were knocking on, then he trotted over to the front door and heaved it open, his tired limbs feeling like lead. He hadn't been getting too much sleep lately. He was met with a grim faced Sergeant Weights, his figure outlined by the rays of morning sun behind him.

"Daniel Vadamee," Zack greeted grimly.

"Sergeant," Daniel returned briskly. They stood in silence for a few awkward moments. Zack had the aura about him that something wasn't right. And the fact that there were a few – at least four – other soldiers waiting nearby, seemed only to strengthen his feeling of unease. "So..." he started. "What is it? What's the matter?"

"Daniel, I am under strict orders issued by Lieutenant Gornz to arrest you for assaulting a military officer."

"Oh," Daniel said, understanding. He felt like an idiot, attacking Gornz like that without thinking of the consequences. Now he was probably gonna be shipped off to Earth or some prison planet, leaving his very own wife alone in a time that was difficult for both their species. He was incredibly angry, angry at Gornz, the politics, the war, and most of all, he was furious with himself. He grudgingly placed his hands out in front of him. It was when he offered them to Weights that the good sergeant spoke up once again.

"But of course, those are orders I do not intend to follow. Gornz is a crazy bastard and we all agree he needs to be shipped out of here, or severely reprehended at the very least," Zack explained.

"Who's 'we'?" Daniel asked.

"A good third of the human population on this planet. We reckon we can get a few soldiers from the Storm Covenant Raid on our side too. Hopefully this uprising will be fought with words, but we got plenty of guns if things take a turn for the worst." Daniel was shocked.

"You... you guys would do that? For me?" Daniel didn't want to start a civil war on Sangheilios, but he was touched that his friends would go to those lengths for him.

"You're a good soldier Daniel, and an even better human being. And with the way Gornz is headed, he's gonna end up pissing off a lot of Sangheili, which is the _last _thing we need right now. He's lucky it's only been someone tolerant like Thelya so far. From what I've learned here, a word out of place to the wrong person can result in a blood bath, and Gornz doesn't seem to have a way with words. God knows who recommended him for this." Daniel nodded thoughtfully.

"So how do we do this? March up to him and cuff him? Call him out at a Council Meeting? Contact Lord Hood?" Sergeant Weights shook his head.

"No. He has guards, soldiers that support him. And Hood would take too long to send someone. Calling him out at a Council Meeting won't really make sense, seeing as it's not the Sangheili's problem. But, we have another plan..."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Completely unaware of the dramatic event about to take place, Pete pulled Yuni off the couch and onto his lap, grinning at her almost drunkenly. She cooed and nuzzled his chin, before returning her attention to the 'movie' they were watching. She was intrigued by the use of recording devices to provide entertainment rather than relay military information, and found herself enjoying the movie when she wasn't asking Pete questions about it.

"Why is she wearing that weird white dress?" she inquired, her beady eyes fixed on the screen in front of her.

"It's a human tradition. Sangheili wear battle armour when they get married, humans wear fancy dresses. Though to be honest, I'd rather get married the Sangheili way. More cool and less sappy." Yuni giggled as the movie drew to an end. Pete gazed at the TV, now black after automatically turning off, and found himself puzzling over, once again, why they had decided a TV was something important to the survival of the humans on this planet. He could understand the coffee, chocolate, beer, microwave, data pads...

But why a TV?

He mentally shrugged and decided it was for the best anyway. A movie was a good thing for a date. He figured that technically, he and Yuni had had about eight or nine dates, even if they didn't know it at first. He remembered something his friend had said to him once:

"Third date is always the big one man. Three dates means sex. See, do the math; 3 x Date = sex." His friend had emphasised the point by drawing the 'equation' on a piece of paper, as if that was somehow proof. Pete had often wondered if that was true, but then again, his friend never actually had a steady girlfriend. Maybe his 'sexquation' (as Pete called it) was the reason for that.

Pete found he didn't actually mind the fact they hadn't had sex yet. He enjoyed just being in Yuni's company, which was odd. Ten years ago, he never would have even considered _touching _a Jackal, a Kig-Yar. Now here he was, kissing one every morning, daydreaming about her while enduring hours of boring treaties and Council Meetings.

It was soon after this moment that Pete discovered Yuni's view on the whole 'sex' thing.

"Hey Pete..." Yuni started, blinking at him cutely.

"Mmm?" he answered.

"We've been sleeping together for a while now..." _One night... _Pete said in his head, but decided against voicing it. Yuni was obviously a little nervous and didn't need to hear something like that. "And, well..." Yuni was wringing her hands a little. "I love you... and this movie has put me in a bit of a, ah, _romantic _mood..." Finally, with a start, Pete caught on. "And... do you want to take this relationship to the next level?"

"Yes," Pete replied without a hint of doubt in his voice. He knew she was the one he wanted to spend his life would. Hell, he'd have kids with her if it were possible. Maybe he shouldn't have teased Daniel so much...

Yuni gave him a sly grin, bringing him back to reality. She slowly stood up and motioned for him to follow, before receding into their quarters they now shared. Pete exited the common room and bemusedly followed her. He had a few second thoughts, the stuff you always get when you were about to have sex with someone, but it was obviously too late to back out now, which was good, because he didn't want to. He entered their bedroom, and he took a moment to smile at the fact he called all his stuff 'theirs' now, instead of 'his'. Then the door swung shut behind him and the fun began.

**A/N And so here begins the long-awaited (or so I like to think) sex scene. Enjoy (or don't, depending on whether you're one of those people who enjoy alien &amp; human sex or not. But that's beyond my control, so if you don't like it, don't read it. I'll shut up now).**

By the time Pete turned around to face Yuni, the Kig-Yar had already shed her clothes. Pete was a bit taken aback by the abruptness of it, but different people reacted to sex in different ways. Apparently, when Yuni got nervous, she did everything so fast that if you blinked, you'd miss it. Yuni had her arms folded across her chest, as if trying to cover up her naked form. She only succeeded in hiding her almost non-existent breasts, which Pete was quite surprised to see, not knowing anything about alien anatomy.

For a moment, a feeling of dread gripped his heart and his eyes flicked down to her crotch. He was relieved to find she had a vagina, although that too was partially hidden by the awkward way Yuni was standing. Pete's eyes roamed back up her body, until they met hers. Yuni licked her lips nervously and waited. Pete slowly began to undress. First, he slipped off his shirt, pausing to let Yuni admire his heavy muscles that you wouldn't find on any ordinary human. These muscles were the kind that could compete with a Sangheili's. He then proceeded to remove his pants, slowly sliding them down, then kicking them off his ankles. He was now standing naked but for his briefs. With a single finger, Pete motioned for her to come over. She obediently, albeit cautiously, approached. Pete grinned as he guided her hand to his briefs. Taking the hint, Yuni broke eye contact and removed Pete's briefs for him, a red tinge appearing on her cheeks. Pete's briefs hit the floor. Yuni took a step away and returned to gazing at Pete from a distance, her arms once again folded over her small tits. A thought suddenly occurred to Pete.

"Yuni, you have done this before, right?" he asked. Yuni shuffled, embarrassed, then shook her head. Now, instead of gazing into his eyes, she was gazing anywhere _but _his eyes. Pete stepped towards her, then behind her, and gave her a soft hug from behind. "A girl as beautiful as you? I don't believe it. How did you manage to get rid of all those horny Jackals ay? They must've flocked to you." Yuni smiled, relishing in the feeling of Pete's flattery.

"Pesticide," she answered with a toothy grin. She craned her neck so that her lips connected with Pete's, initiating a passionate kiss. Pete had a fair bit of experience in this part of life, and so he could tell just by how a girl kissed, which role they wanted to play in the upcoming event. As Pete slipped his tongue into Yuni's mouth, he noted she mostly just submitted to what he gave her, played along with what he did.

It seemed that she wanted Pete to take the initiative of this relationship.

Still connected at the lips, Pete slipped an arm around her waist and guided her to the bed, where he lifted her down until she was lying on her back with him on top of her, careful not to put all of his weight on her fragile body. Pete broke the kiss, leaving them both panting. Their eyes locked on to each other for a second, then Pete placed a gentle kiss on her neck. He placed another kiss on her perky breasts, then moved down to her belly, and finally to her crotch.

Pete rested his hands on Yuni's thighs as he lowered his face to contact Yuni's virgin pussy. He slithered his tongue out and into her slit, paying special attention to her sensitive clit. Yuni couldn't help but let out a shuddering moan at his ministrations. He slathered her pussy in saliva, lubing her up for what was to come. He then moved back up to take one of her nipples into his mouth, sucking and nibbling it gently. Yuni shook in pleasure, then let out another shaky moan when Pete slipped a finger inside her vagina. He eased it inside, then added a second finger. He switched to her other breast as he began pumping his fingers in and out gently, letting Yuni get used to the sensation.

Pete withdrew his fingers, leaving Yuni panting and staring at him expectantly. He licked his fingers clean of Yuni's sweet juices, which tasted very different to the human pussy he had tasted. Better, in fact. He shuffled up closer so their chests were pressed together and lined up his dick with the entrance to her pussy. Pete gave her a quick glance, one last chance to back out, but Yuni nodded, urging him to penetrate her. Pete pushed his shaft inside her slowly and gently, trying to give her time to adjust to his unique girth, but it was hard to hold back with a velvet tunnel as soft and tight as hers, slick with his saliva and her juices from earlier.

Yuni gave a quick yelp of pain, making Pete stop completely and give her a worried look. She flashed him a trembling thumbs up and a reassuring grin. She hooked her legs around his back so he couldn't pull out. Pete's dick was only buried halfway inside her, but he began to slowly pull it free from her, until only the very tip remained inside, before pushing forward again, managing to sink in another inch this time. He repeated this, slowly building up power and speed until he hilted himself inside her.

Yuni's arms coiled themselves around Pete's shoulders, pulling him tightly against her as he continued to piston his member into her. She arched her back as a wave of pleasure washed over her, causing her to dig her nails into his back. She hissed and moaned as Pete's thrusts became faster and accompanied by grunts and the occasional moan. Yuni squeaked pitifully as her first ever orgasm hit her. Her pussy constricted around Pete's shaft, making the walls surrounding it twice as tight. With a gasp, Pete was unable to hold on any longer.

"Y-Yuni... I-I..." Yuni pressed her muzzle against his ear and managed to utter three words.

"Cum... inside me," she demanded. Within seconds of Yuni, Pete came, painting her vaginal walls white with his spent seed. Yuni was hit with another wave of pleasure, still riding out her own orgasm as she was. She dragged her nails down Pete's back, leaving a set of shallow scratches down his spine, not deep enough to draw blood. The pleasure only intensified when Pete had cum, but their climaxes were finally calming down enough for Pete to slump down onto the bed next to Yuni. His flaccid shaft slipped out of her as they pulled each other into a tight embrace.

"I love you Yuni," Pete whispered, unable to manage anything else while trying to catch his breath.

"I love you too," Yuni breathed back, blinking wearily. Pete's own eyelids were beginning to grow heavy. He only just managed to remember to pull the covers over them before they sipped into a sex-induced coma together.

**A/N: Sorry if it was a bit scrappy; it's been a while since I've written a sex scene. I'm a bit rusty.  
Oh yeah, and there'll be another one coming up soon for a certain male Sangheili and female human (I wonder who?). As always, you'll see me (well, not really. You'll see the words that represent me) in the next chapter,  
~CrazyBirdMan59**

**(Aren't these things fun? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Come on, give it a try. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I'm sorry. Bye!)**


	25. Chapter 24: Engaging the Enemy

**A/N: Not really much to say here... If you have any questions or concerns, leave a review and I'll be sure to answer important questions in the next Author's Note and fix up any mistakes I've made (In due time, I'll probably go back and fix things up once I've finished the story). If I haven't answered your question, that's probably because the answer is/will be included in the actual story, or the answer's supposed to be a surprise for later. Other than that, enjoy!**

Sergeant Zackary Weights led Daniel Vadamee down the short corridor of the UNSC outpost that had, despite its original intentions, was still being used as such. The human representatives had decided it was a good place to organise meetings and whatnot within their community. And so, the Sangheili had allowed it to remain under human control, a sanctuary for the visiting species.

Daniel winced as the cold metal of his cuffs bit into his skin yet again. They arrived at their destination: 'The Throne Room' as the humans called it, not to Gornz's face of course. The nickname was accurate; in the centre of the room was a large, embroidered chair which Gornz sat atop like some kind of king. To either side of him were his 'bodyguards', his 'advisors' and his closest 'friends'. Daniel took a moment to marvel at what Gornz had done. He had set up a small kingdom for himself.

_The man is literally _insane_ beyond belief_, Daniel observed. But the worst part was, Gornz had followers. There were people on this planet who mistook the illness of his mental health for good leadership, somehow. Maybe they were all insane too.

He sure hoped not.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Thelya yawned as she awoke from her nap on the couch. The last thing she remembered was Daniel going off into the kitchen to have an 'important conversation' with Sergeant Weights. She rose and walked into the kitchen. Daniel wasn't there. She sighed and travelled up to the bedroom. Not there either. She groaned. _He had better not be making a habit of disappearing like this. I do not think I can handle being married to him if this is the case. Does he not know how much he worries me?_ She wondered. She sighed again. _I suppose I had better ask around, see if any of his friends know where he is._

But after ten minutes of searching, she could not find a single human being. The only signs of human life had been the guards at a door, who had told her Gornz was inside and in the middle of an important meeting. Thelya despised Gornz to say the least, so no more questions were asked.

She knocked on Pete's door. There was an irritated moan from inside.

"Go away." Pete's voice, undoubtedly. Thelya caught herself wondering why that wasn't obvious to her, as if she had been expecting someone else to answer. She needed to sleep more, she told herself. She knocked again.

"Peter. It is me, Thelya. Daniel has gone _missing _again."

"I'm busy."

"Peter, I cannot find anyone else. This whole building is deserted. May I please have your help?" The door clicked open and Pete, half naked (the top half), blinked at her warily.

"Say what?"

"I said: the whole building is devoid of any other humans, apart from Lieutenant Gornz and his guards, but he was in a meeting," Thelya spat out the name Gornz like it was poison.

"Ah shit," Pete cursed. "This could be bad. Uh... did the guards mention the _topic _of his 'meeting'?"

"No..." Thelya responded, not catching on. Pete sighed.

"Lemme get dressed, then I'll explain to you what Gornz's _meeting _is probably about." He disappeared back inside.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"Ah, good work Weights. Daniel, do you understand why you're here?" Gornz demanded. His eyes were wild. He was definitely going insane.

"Because you're a mentally unstable son-of-a-bitch?" Daniel suggested.

"No. Because you are an Insurrectionist, a Rebel." There was a chorus of gasps as Gornz revealed this. _Those idiots,_ Daniel growled mentally. _They're taking this all in, and _believing _it?_ "I thought the fighting between humanity would have stopped after the war with the Covenant," Gornz continued, "but no. You Rebels will stop at nothing to screw things up for humanity!"

"You're delusional," Daniel told him.

"Weights, take him to the holding cells," Gornz spat. "I'll let ONI deal with _him_."

"I'm afraid I can't do that sir," Weights replied, unlocking Daniel's cuffs. Daniel rubbed his sore wrists gingerly. Gornz's guards raised their guns, but received a ring of guns around them to be raised in return. Gornz and his men were outnumbered. "We're relieving you of duty. The only person I'll be escorting to the holding cells, is _you_."

"This is mutiny," Gornz snarled. Then he smirked. "But I saw this coming. You forget Weights, that you showed where your allegiances lay right in front of me a while back. And now I have all of the traitors, right where I want them." Out of the shadows emerged twice as many of Gornz's supporters as there were Weights'. All had guns aimed at the 'Rebels'. "So Weights, will you order your men to stand down and surrender? Or will you fight until the bitter end? Which is you losing, by the way." Weights sighed, and lowered his weapon. He couldn't believe Gornz's paranoid delusions had led him to beat his plan. "You will be taken to the nearest ONI headquarters to be interrogated, and put on trial for treason," Gornz explained cockily.

Daniel had before been confident that Lord Hood would take his side of this, but now he wasn't so sure. _Gornz has convinced twice as many people to join him than we have. What if Hood buys into this bullshit?_ Then it hit him. They had contacted Hood before executing the plan, so that there would be a UNSC ship to collect Gornz once they jailed him, but Lord Hood would never come personally. What if the team he sent were swayed by Gornz? Then they would make a report to Hood, and Gornz would seem like a _hero._ Suddenly, Daniel went pale.

This was bad.

And he hadn't even talked to Thelya in the past five or six hours. God he'd miss her. He gazed at the nearest soldier that was on Gornz's side.

"Hey, would ya mind doing me a favour? Tell Thelya I love her, and tell her not to try and rescue me," he whispered. The soldier nodded, the movement so slight only Daniel could have noticed. As insane as Gornz was, these people were at least still human. Then that same guard leapt at Gornz, tackling him to the ground, and seconds later there was a SOCOM pressed against Gornz's temple.

"ONE MOVE AND I BLOW OUT HIS BRAINS!" the soldier screamed. Daniel stared in shock. "Gornz is a psychopath!" the soldier yelled. "I only joined him because I knew he would come out on top. But then I remembered. I don't fight to win; I FIGHT FOR WHAT'S RIGHT! Who's with me?!" The only heads that nodded were the men who were already on Zack and Daniel's side.

"Guns are for actions," Gornz muttered, his hand reaching towards his belt, "not for threats. Tell me boy, do you have the guts to murder a fellow human in cold blood? Would you actually do it?" Gornz pulled a Magnum from his belt, the silver gleam of the steel unmistakeable to the marine holding him hostage.

"DROP IT!" the soldier commanded. _BANG._ The soldier's body dropped to the floor, a single bullet lodged in his brain. Gornz wiped a spot of blood off his shoulder as he got to his feet. Everyone in the room just stood and stared in shocked silence. Gornz sat back in his throne, then the doors slammed open, and in stepped an unlikely figure.

"Thelya!" Daniel cried, exasperated.

"You treacherous scum!" Thelya roared, pointing an accusing finger at Gornz. Instantly, more than a dozen guns were fixated on her.

"Stand down," one of the guards ordered.

"No, no," Gornz dismissed him. "Let her. What are you going to do, Thelya? You forget; you aren't the Arbiter anymore. What are you going to do?"

"Honour my wedding vows," Thelya growled. The Energy Sword in her left hand ignited, the shimmering blade of light an all-too-familiar omen to the marines standing by. When one drew that weapon, it was not a threat, a promise, or even a fight.

It was death.

Thelya charged. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Guns flared to life and bullets bounced harmlessly off Thelya's shields. Weights brought Daniel and himself to the floor, barely managing to evade the ricochets and misses. Thelya's Energy Sword swung forward. The gunfire stopped. Gornz sat, looking ridiculous on his throne, mouth opening and closing soundlessly, like a fish. The Energy Sword's blade ran straight through him and out the other side of the chair Gornz sat atop. Again, the humans stood in silence as they observed the brutal scene.

Had the Master Chief been there, he would have silently noted to himself that the scene was very familiar to when the Prophet of Truth was speared by that very same sword. But alas, the déjà vu was lost on the spectators, and even to Thelya herself as the rage was boiling through her veins faster than her common sense. "And you forget," Thelya snarled into the dying man's ear. "That 'Arbiter' is only a title. Losing that makes me no less a warrior than I was before." Thelya flicked her Energy Sword off. Gornz's body slumped over and fell of its throne.

One of Gornz's supporters raised a gun to Daniel as if to use him as a bargaining piece with Thelya, but after receiving a death glare from the Sangheili, dropped the weapon altogether and edged out of the room uneasily. Pete and Yuni trotted warily into the room. Pete leaned over to Yuni slightly.

"Looks like we missed the party," he muttered so only she could hear, eyeing the lifeless body of Gornz.

"Well, this is one party I'm _glad _I missed," Yuni replied, receiving a silent nod of agreement from Pete as he straightened up.

"I am almost at the breaking point," Thelya said, strangely calm. "I have had enough of all this... this _bullshit._ I am going to take my husband home, and if anyone so much as _knocks on the door _in the next five days, I will personally slaughter them in the _slowest _and most _painful _ways possible. Am I clear?" She took Daniel's hand, gently and lovingly, all traces of the hatred she was feeling moments earlier evaporating as they left the room together. Once they were gone, the room stayed silent. Nobody moved a muscle. It was as if moving or making noise would cause a bomb to go off and kill them all. You could barely hear the raspy breath of the numerous humans occupying the room.

"Remind me to never get on Thelya's bad side. Like, ever," Pete mumbled. Yuni took a sharp breath, and those who were holding their breath to maintain the silence released and started taking in air normally again.

"I... I'm gonna go rethink my life... and try to get some sleep without pissing myself like a five-year-old," one of the soldiers excused themselves, then left the room.

"Yeah... I'm probably gonna have nightmares for weeks," another agreed, before following. Eventually, the whole room departed, some mumbling remarks about what had just taken place, others without a word.

"We should probably go tell the High Council that Thelya and Daniel won't be attending the next gathering..." Pete told Yuni, the only other life in the entire room. Yuni tore her eyes away from the two dead bodies lying in the centre of the room.

"Yeah..." she replied distantly. She had almost forgotten what it was like when she used to serve in the Covenant. Elites could get very brutal when they were mad. They could take down Spartans; the humans that were named 'Demons' before they knew any better. She felt a bit of fear creep in, that anger hadn't always been aimed at the enemy; some of the Elites' rage tended to rub off on their subordinates.

"Yuni?" Pete's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and into reality. Her human was standing about a metre away, just outside the door, giving her a worried look.

"Coming!" she assured him.


	26. Chapter 25: Good Ol' R 'n' R

The first thing Daniel and Thelya did when they got back to their house was lock the door, and flop onto the bad. They curled up together, not even bothering to pull the sheets over themselves, and slept soundlessly for the first time in days. A whole day was spent like this; they had been desperate for a good night's sleep, but there had been too many things to think about, too many things to _worry _about. But now, it was as if for the five days they had allocated themselves, the rest of the galaxy no longer mattered. Nothing could touch them in their two-story three-bedroom two-bathroom sanctuary.

Daniel woke up a good twenty-nine hours after the 'Gornz' incident. He could feel the security of Thelya's arms around him, and felt terrible when he had to remove himself from the comfort. Alas, his stomach was demanding a good meal, and he wanted to surprise his wife with a delicious breakfast. He set to cooking up some pancakes and baked beans on toast, with a side of coffee and orange juice. He hoped Thelya was as hungry as he was.

"Good morning Daniel," the Sangheili in question greeted as she shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Daniel was surprised to see she was dressed in an elegant red robe instead of her armour. The robe was beautiful, to say the least. It was decorated with spiralling golden patterns, with something similar to a dragon coming up the back with its maw stretched open, thrusting a plume of flame into the stars above. Thelya noticed him staring. "I no longer the Arbiter, I do not have to be so strict with myself anymore," she explained.

"Oh, that's not what was on my mind," Daniel told her, flipping the pancake that was currently in the pan. "That robe is almost as beautiful as you are." Four pieces of toast popped out of the toaster, so Daniel quickly removed them and spread some butter on them.

"Oh, I may have to burn it then. After all, I would not want to have to compete with a mere robe for the attention of my husband now, would I?" Daniel grinned and presented Thelya with the food. He caught her licking her mandibles at the sight. They wolfed down their food in silence, forgetting that they weren't alone, and feeling embarrassed that they'd made such a pig of themselves afterwards. Daniel cleared his throat to break the awkward silence.

"So, uh, how shall we spend our days of peace and quiet?" he inquired. Thelya shrugged, yes, shrugged. She had started being a lot more casual since she lost her title of Arbiter, Daniel noticed. For a moment, he felt thankful for Gornz. Then he remembered everything else the crazy son-of-a-bitch had done, and the feeling was gone.

"I have not really thought about it, but nothing that is not relaxing peaceful, and quiet. But, I had thought that it might be time to mate again, it has been a while. Or at least it _feels _like it has been a while." Thelya looked slightly confused for a moment, probably counting how many days it had been since they last had sex.

"There's my horny alien," Daniel laughed, "but I wouldn't exactly call that a 'quiet and peaceful' activity. Personally, I would have chosen the words 'loud' and 'intense'."

"Mmm," Thelya agreed. Either she had never said that before, or Daniel had never noticed. Her new attitude was bringing more things that he loved about Thelya to his attention. "I did not mean now. I have neither the energy nor the willpower for any physical activity. Perhaps we could watch one of your... 'movies'?" It wasn't a bad suggestion actually. They made themselves comfortable, which was them lying on the couch together with a blanket thrown over the top, Thelya lying behind Daniel with her head on his shoulder and her arm around his waist. Together, they waited for the move to begin.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~

Zack was awoken abruptly by a soft voice.

"Sergeant Weights?" He cracked open an eye, and slowly he began to remember where he was. He had fallen asleep in the mess hall, luckily on one of the more comfortable arm chairs than the bench seats. An image of himself dozing off, only to fall of the backless bench popped into his mind. He then blinked and gazed at the speaker. It was the Jackal, Yari? Yunos? Yaki? Yuna... Yusi... Yuni! That was the one. God, alien names were confusing. It took him a moment to respond.

"Yeah...?" he responded slowly, still not properly awake. In the back of his mind, a voice told him he was a marine, and his wits should be sharper than this, but his time as an ambassador was making him soft.

"Hi, you probably don't know who I am, but –" She was cut off as Zack, quite proud of his achievement, wanted to show off his skills at recognising aliens and pronouncing their names.

"No, I know who you are, Yuni," Zack assured her, and immediately regretted it.

"Err... no. That's the other Kig-Yar. The one in a sexual relationship with Pete? There are three of us." _Shit,_ Zack cursed to himself. Now that his mind wasn't so groggy, he realised the Jackal looked completely different to Yuni.

"Ah... Oh... Sorry about that... I er... was um, kinda still half asleep?" Zack apologised with broken words. Then the implications of what she had just said hit him. "Wait. Pete's having sex with an alien as well now? Damn, I need to get my game face on," he joked, trying to ease the tension he was convinced he had just created. That failed miserably.

"I'm not interested," the Jackal said bluntly, assuming Zack was trying to hit on her in some round-about way. She sighed. "Look, the name's Larun. Yuni managed to convince me that not all humans are complete pigs, but every single one I've met so far seems to disprove that. Sorry to interrupt you, goodbye." 'Larun' turned to leave, but Zack grabbed her arm.

"Hey!" he protested. "I'm sorry, I'm not normally like that, and I'm not actually interested in sleeping with aliens." Larun quirked an eyebrow at him, but sat down anyway.

"Is that so? Let's talk then." The tone of her voice suggested she was not convinced, and Zack was probably the only person who could sway her opinion of humans at that moment.

"Well, my name is Zack. I'm a Sergeant in the UNSC Marines. I was selected to come on this mission not only because I'm handy with almost any weapon you can throw at me, human, Covenant or Forerunner, but also because I'm an extremely tolerant person and I've actually managed not to lose my ability to feel emotions during the war. I hate hurting people's feelings and will try to make amends with them if possible." Zack hoped she would catch the hint, even though it was impossible to miss. _I guess what I'm really hoping for is that she realises I am being sincere,_ he told himself.

"I am Larun. I'm a Kig-Yar that ran away from the Covenant when Sergeant Masters offered me and my comrades a better life. I currently have no close friends and wish to make some, but I don't really like Sangheili because of how cruel they were to my kind during the war, so the only other species available to me is human. I have only met snobs and am about to give up." It seemed she was using the same tactics as he was. This wasn't a conversation Zack was feeling particularly comfortable with. Zack actually began to get a bit annoyed.

"Look, how many humans have you talked to exactly? You do know that we've just come out the other side of a miniature civil war, and everyone's still feeling a bit hostile towards one another. To be honest, after seeing someone get diced by a Sangheili, they can't be feeling all that happy with aliens right now. Maybe if you gave them a little time, and the benefit of doubt, you might find someone you like." Without a word, she got up and left. _That went well,_ Zack thought sarcastically.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Kath wandered down the path. It was well-paved with smooth stones, and surrounded by lush grass and pretty flowers. She smiled, it seemed that Lanai had quite the sensitive side. She stepped off the path and onto Lanai's front porch, where she rang the doorbell. The Sangheili answered immediately, as if he were waiting on the other side for her to arrive, which he might well have been doing. It was a date after all. Kath still wasn't too sure how she felt about Lanai. Sure, she liked him, but she didn't know if she loved him enough to make a commitment like marriage so quickly.

"Hello," Lanai greeted nervously. That was the thing about Lanai; he got nervous. She had always imagined Sangheili as relentless killing machines, bred into war, not able to feel. Ever since she met Thelya, her opinion changed slightly, but there were still so few Sangheili she had met that were willing to share their emotions. Lanai was so... so _human._ She stood and watched him fiddle with his hands for a bit, awaiting her answer.

"Hi," she responded brightly. "I like your garden." Lanai blushed ever so slightly. Even blushing, just like a nervous schoolboy would on his first date. She found herself thinking about what Thelya had told her. _It is only a matter of time before he asks you to marry him._ She had been getting more and more worried that he hadn't. _What if these aren't dates anymore? What if he's found someone else and we're just friends now?_ Had she thought about this logically, she could have come up with more than a few reasons that would disprove these scenarios, but her heart was leaping desperately in her chest, and hundreds more things that could have gone wrong were racing through her head.

She decided she would be honest with him, and tell him what was on her mind. "Lanai..." she started."A-a while ago, Thelya told me that after a few dates, a Sangheili usually asks the person they're courting to marry them. You haven't yet. Do... do you still love me?" She gazed into his eyes hopefully, desperate to have her fears put to rest, desperate to hear the words she wanted, but afraid to hear the ones she didn't. He gently took her hands in his, grasping them reassuringly. _Please no... _Kath pleaded silently. Men usually didn't do this sort of thing unless they were consoling someone, right?

"Katherine, of course I love you." Her heart skipped a beat and she almost fainted. "I know I love you. I love you so much I am prepared to wait. I do not need to ask you to marry me, because I am enjoying the time we are spending together now. If I asked you, and you said no, then I want to have these memories, to treasure forever." Kath hugged him tightly, half because she knew she loved him too, but half because she almost _did _faint and needed some support.

"Lanai..." she whispered, unable to raise her voice sufficiently. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." She felt dizzy with what she was about to say, but she needed him to know. Her heart was set. "If you asked me to marry you right now, I would say yes. I love you Lanai." Lanai rubbed her back softly.

"No, it can wait. I do not want to force this upon you, we will wait until the time is right..." Kath felt her eyes drifting shut, her head resting against Lanai's chest. The sudden rush of emotions had taken a lot out of her, making her fell tired and physically drained. She wondered if maybe she hadn't caught some kind of alien illness. But then she remembered the words to an old Earth song:

"_You don't need analyzing  
It is not so surpisin'  
That you feel very strange but nice_

_Your heart goes pitter-patter  
I know just what's the matter  
Because I've been there once or twice_

_Put your head on my shoulder  
You need someone who's older  
A rub-down with a velvet glove_

_There is nothing you can take  
To relieve that pleasant ache  
You're not sick, you're just in love_."

**A/N: For those of you wondering, that is part of the song "You're Just in Love" by Perry Como. I thought it would be a nice way to finish off the chapter, it's a nice song. Also introducing a couple of new characters for no particular reason. Hope you liked the chapter,  
~CrazyBirdMan59**


	27. Chapter 26: Not So Bad

**A/N: This chapter will contain M rate content. Just a heads up. I'll put the warning in (as per usual) when the time comes.**

Larun, the Jackal that had been rescued alongside Yuni, was gliding down the corridor silently, heading for the exit. She'd had enough of humans for one day and was going to go get something to eat. Just as she reached the door, something slammed into her and she tumbled to the floor. She instantly whipped out her Needler and rolled into a crouched stance. She sighed and relaxed when she saw what had hit her.

A human male was scrambling around on the floor picking up several sheets of paper he had dropped.

"I'm so so so so so sorry about that! I'm in a hurry to get these reports back to the commander here – I wasn't watching where I was going..." the human mumbled. Larun rolled her eyes and stood. There was something different about this human, but she couldn't quite place it.

_Of course,_ she realised. _It's not wearing armour. This one's a civilian._ Larun turned to leave, but just then the human finished gathering his papers and stood up, setting his eyes on the person he had knocked down for the first time. He gasped in fright. "Oh god you're an alien! I mean – you're uh... uh... I'm so sorry! I-I promise it won't happen again! I swear I'll be more careful next time! Please! Forgive me!"

The human was pleading with her, as if he was afraid she would hurt him. This triggered memories of when she was still in the Covenant, memories of when she had to grovel at the feet of her oppressors in order not to be killed for her 'insolence'.

"It's fine, human," Larun sighed. She didn't know why she was pitying the human, but for the moment she blamed it on the unwelcome memories.

"No, it's not. Look, how about I make it up to you? Have you eaten yet?"

"No..." Larun answered curiously. "I was just heading out to get something now."

"How about I cook you something? You know, some human food?" Larun had to admit, the idea of trying human cuisine intrigued her.

"That does sound rather interesting," Larun confessed. The human smiled shakily.

"Great. Uh, just give me a minute to drop these off," he told her as he gestured to the papers in his hand. Larun nodded and leaned against the wall, waiting.

_What an odd human,_ Larun thought to herself. _Odd and... enigmatic. _This _is the sort of human I've been wanting to meet. Maybe Sergeant Weights was telling the truth yesterday? _Then the human returned, huffing slightly from all the running he had just done. "Here, let's go to the kitchen." The human led the way and eventually they arrived at the base's 'kitchen'. He immediately set about doing important-looking things that Larun assumed would lead to a meal being created.

"It's kinda cold," the human observed as he shivered slightly. "Do you want a hot drink?" He noted Larun's blank expression. "Tea? Coffee? Hot Chocolate?" Still nothing. "You've never had Hot Chocolate?" Larun shook her head, starting to get a little frustrated at how the human seemed to be mocking her. She opened her mouth to snap at him when he interrupted her. "Well hey, don't worry. This'll be great. Trust me; I've never met anyone who doesn't like a good Hot Chocolate from time to time."

For some odd reason, this made Larun shut her mouth. The way this human seemed to apologise for everything he did prevented him from reaching the end of Larun's currently short temper. Soon after, he presented her with a cup of steaming brown liquid, then busied himself with his cooking tools again. Larun took a tentative sip and her eyes went wide. "Yeah, I'm not the best cook in the world, but what kind of idiot can't make Hot Chocolate right? – I mean, unless you don't even know what Hot Chocolate is, in which case you're not an idiot, you're probably just not human."

"This... this is the best thing I've tasted in my life..." Larun whispered, not believing what was happening to her. As long as she could remember, she had been eating rations and MREs. This was the first real drink she had ever had that wasn't water or some kind of protein shake.

"Oh come on," the human scoffed. "If you hate it, just tell me. I won't shatter if you don't compliment my food."

"No," Larun responded. "I love it. It's the most incredible thing I've ever drunk." Larun took another sip. She reckoned she would have gulped down the whole cup already if the mixture hadn't been so hot. She looked up at the human with bright, excited eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this. "When will the food be ready?"

~~~~~~~~~~(** Sexy scene starts in the next two paragraphs. Ye have been warned**)~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel and Thelya wandered down the hall and into their room. The third day of their Rest and Relaxation period was just drawing to a close, the time being ten o'clock in the evening. The couple had their arms around one another's waist as they entered their bedroom.

"Ah shit, sorry Thel; I think I left the TV on," Daniel apologised. "I'll be right back." He blushed slightly because, without realising it, he had called his wife "Thel" for the first time since she had revealed her true gender. He wondered if she would be mad at her for calling her by a pet name, and hoped she wouldn't take it the wrong way. Thel could be a unisex name, right? Just like Sam could mean Samantha or Samuel. And Jamie could be a guy's or a girl's name.

He flicked the TV off and made his way back upstairs. What he saw when he entered the bedroom was not what he was expecting, but that didn't mean he didn't like it. Thelya was lying on her side, completely nude, on the bed in a very sultry position, with her chin cradled in her hand.

"These last few days have invigorated me," she purred seductively. "I think it is time we got some well-earned 'exercise'." Daniel grinned at her. He slipped off his coat, letting it drop to the floor. He then slowly rolled his shirt off, before sliding his pants down in what he hoped was an erotic way. Thelya shifted her position so she was lying on her back with her legs spread wide, a very welcoming posture which Daniel had every intention of taking advantage of.

He advanced on her, climbing onto the bed gracefully and pressing his chest against hers, hugged her. She cooed to him, wrapping her arms around his back, trying to pull him closer. Daniel kissed the nape of her neck lovingly as he lined up his now extremely-hard manhood with her moist pussy. He pressed forward gently, relishing in the sound of her sharp gasp as he penetrated her cooch. Daniel slowly withdrew, then slammed his hips forward again. Thelya moaned and gripped him tighter. Daniel kept his face buried in her neck, concentrating his willpower on pulling out, then hammering his dick back home again. He sped up his pace, bucking his hips against her roughly, but knowing it would be incredibly hard for him to hurt the big, strong alien.

Thelya was moaning all the while, unable to do anything but enjoy the intense sensations in her position beneath him. Every nerve in her wet pussy lit up as he thrust his shaft back into her, making her want to arch her back, but unable to do so without flinging Daniel off the top of her. All the while, Daniel was kissing and stroking her. She turned her head and locked lips and mandibles with him, moaning into his mouth as their tongues danced together, Daniel still slamming their hips together the whole time.

Thelya's eyes had long since drifted shut, so the rest of the world was blocked out and the only thing she was aware of was her lover's body slapping against hers as his thick manhood slid in and out of her, sending shockwaves of unmatchable pleasure coursing through her body. Daniel's breathing was getting ragged, forcing him to break the kiss or suffocate, and his thrusts were becoming more and more aggressive, making Thelya moan again. He was close, and she knew she wouldn't last much longer either.

Daniel pulled back so far his dick almost popped free of her, then he speared forward, burying himself deep inside her one final time before cumming hard. The feeling of Daniel's hot seed spilling into her vagina was enough to send Thelya over the edge too, making her cry out and mash her mandibles against Daniel's lips again.

Her chest was heaving, lifting Daniel up slightly with every breath, by the time they came down from their climaxes. She hugged him tightly against herself again, sighing happily as she began to get her breath back. Daniel, not having quite the same endurance as the Sangheili, was already getting heavy eyelids as his now-flaccid member slipped out of her. Thelya smiled at her mate, clucking her tongue lovingly at him as she pulled the blankets over them both.

She knew she had to enjoy this time she had now, for tomorrow things were going to change forever.

**A/N: A bit short, I know, but it's getting harder and harder to find the time to write these days. I promise I won't give up until I'm done or some disaster destroys my world, but updates could be (Well, have been) slow at times. I'll try to make the next chapter longer,  
~CrazyBirdMan59**


	28. Chapter 27: Revelations and Resolutions

**A/N: I realise I made a pretty dumb move. I put an A/N at the end of the last chapter, but for those of you who skip the sex, you would've missed it. So for the sake of those people I will say again: updates have been and will continue to be quite slow on account of college and how hard it is to find the time to write. But I won't give up on this story unless some kind of catastrophe happens, like my computer spontaneously exploding (which is actually likely seeing as it's a piece of crap). Anyways, onto the story :)**

The Pelican spiralled slowly as it hovered down for a landing. Pete greeted the UNSC officer who stepped out of it. Now began the long and quite possibly heated discussion of what had occurred recently. Pete explained everything that had happened, from Gornz going insane to the death of him and the young marine.

"Mmm," the officer grunted thoughtfully. "Hood wasn't too surprised when he heard. Gornz had a period in his life after he lost his whole platoon in a Covenant ambush where he went partially insane. Hallucinations, paranoia, violent tendencies, delusions. But he seemed to recover, and the UNSC were desperate for leaders like him. I guess after the war ended the files were lost and Gornz never got relieved of duty." He paused as four men stepped out behind him. "We would like to take the bodies back to Earth, for a proper burial. And I would also like to speak to Serg – Er, Daniel."

"Ah, actually, Daniel is kinda busy at the moment. He's still got another day left of his R'n'R break. And I wouldn't give Thelya the benefit of doubt about her threat..."

"No, it's alright Pete," Daniel interrupted, appearing behind him, Thelya at his side. Pete spun around and gave him a curious look. Daniel laughed. "We heard the Pelican come down. I actually wanted to help tell the tale, seeing as I was actually there, but I guess I'm a bit late."

"Sergeant Gerth has relayed a perfectly detailed account of Sergeant Weights' involvement," the officer assured him. "Sergeant Gerth, if you could take my men to the bodies...?" Pete took the hint and nodded, leaving them to talk in private with the officer's soldiers following. "Daniel, I understand you quit the UNSC. I understand you did this because of Lieutenant Gornz. If you wish, the UNSC needs men like you; we would be happy to have you back – with a promotion, of course." Daniel smiled gratefully, but shook his head.

"Nah, I'm thinking of settling down. I just want to live a quiet life with Thelya from now on. Get a nice civilian job. Anything else I can do for you? Otherwise I've still got another thirty-four hours of R'n'R left before the politics start up again."

"No, that will be all," the officer explained, then added: "But if you happen upon Sergeant Weights, could you tell him I'd like to see him?" Daniel nodded, then took Thelya's hand and together, he and his wife returned to their house to savour their last few hours of peace. On the way, they did happen to pass by Weights, and relayed the officer's message to him.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Weights approached the UNSC officer warily.

"Ah, Sergeant Weights," his superior greeted cheerily. He pulled out a parcel and handed it to the soldier. "Sorry we can't make it an official ceremony, but I'm short on time. Hood wants me to report back to Earth ASAP." Weights unravelled the parcel and took out a piece of cloth with a single thick, silver stripe down the middle. The officer saluted. "First Lieutenant Weights." Then his soldiers arrived carrying two black body bags on stretchers.

Weights noticed as the officer and his men stepped back into the Pelican that he was carrying a second parcel under his arm. He made a mental note to ask Daniel about that later. "Oh, and Weights. We're sending a few Pelicans down at 2100 hours to pick up the survivors from the Storm Covenant attack. Please have them ready by then – well, as many that are able to be moved. The rest will have to remain here for a few more months." Weights then watched the Pelican fade away until it was a speck in the sky, then it was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Thelya sat Daniel down at the kitchen table.

"Daniel, there is something I have been meaning to tell you for a long time now... I was going to tell you earlier, but I was interrupted by the Storm Covenant attack and..." Thelya choked on her words. She was scared. Not just nervous, but scared. Scared that Daniel would be angry at her for delaying, scared that he would reject her once he found out. Scared that he wasn't ready for what she was about to confess. Scared that _she _wasn't ready for what was to come.

"Yes...?" Daniel asked, peering at her suspiciously. Backing out now would only make him paranoid. Besides, the longer she delayed, the angrier he would be likely to get.

"I am pregnant."

First Daniel smiled, as if he believed she was joking. Then he took notice of her expression. His smile faltered, then his eyes went wide. His face slowly contorted into a look of shock, borderline horror. Thelya looked away, ashamed of herself.

"Pre-pregnant? Sh-shouldn't that be a-a biological impossibility or something?" he stammered. Then his face really did turn to that which bore a great horror. "It's not mine?"

"No," Thelya interrupted quickly. "You are the only person I have had sex with in the past ten years Daniel. It is yours." Daniel was relieved, then stressed, then calm, then agitated.

"Bu-but then it must have been from our first time," he observed. Thelya nodded. "So what? What happens? Do Sangheili lay eggs or something? Do I have to sit on an egg like some kind of deformed duck?"

"Daniel, I do not know. Sangheili lay eggs, but humans do not. I do not know how long the gestation period will be, I do not know how long the incubation period will be and I do not know if the baby will even be alive when it is born, or if it will be a mess of scrambled DNA. Perhaps I will die during the birth, this is –"

"DON'T!" Daniel screamed. "Don't say that. Please don't say that." He gulped, shaking slightly from what he was hearing from his own wife. "Don't ever say that. And _especially _don't say it like _that_. How can you say that so calmly? I never want to lose you Thelya. If I lost you I'd probably end up like Gornz; some fucking psychotic asshole. Never talk to me about that kind of stuff again, you hear me?" Thelya nodded solemnly.

"But as I was saying; this is all new, not just to us, but to both of our species. We have no idea what will come from this. I do know that ever since we had sex I have been feeling very ill in the mornings. I remember when we went on that picnic I was feeling a bit out of it... I wonder if that is a sign of what is to come..." Daniel completely ignored the fact that she was taking about getting sick and dying, instead something else had caught his attention.

"You've been having Morning Sickness? Thelya, that's a human thing. Look, if this baby's gonna be human then all we have to do is talk to Chantal. That is to say, talk to a human doctor. Then we'll find out if this thing's going to be human or Sangheili."

"Or perhaps one of your 'hybrids' you have been dreaming about since you met me," Thelya joked, winking at him. Daniel laughed, feeling a lot better now that they had a plan. There was no longer a great clutter in his head; he had his thoughts all sorted out now. "But yes, that is a good idea. Let us visit this 'Chantal'." Daniel sighed and finally his heart was slowing down.

Daniel had been shot at, survived seven vehicle-related explosions, fallen from over fifty planet's atmospheres in a small metal capsule, fallen off two _very _tall buildings, accidentally disturbed a nest of Drones, ambushed by Grunts jumping out of some dumpsters, a duel to the death with a Zealot and escaped from a prison inside of a Corvette unarmed. But never in his entire life had he been as scared as he had been in the past five minutes.

Thelya was right; this was _very _new to him. He sure hoped both their species would be able to sympathise with what he had just been through.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Larun, Yuni's fellow Jackal, knocked on the door, checking the address on the slip of paper she was holding for the thousandth time. Josh, the human she had acquainted herself with the previous night, answered. She had grown to like this human very much, especially after tasting his incredible 'pizza'. He was an excellent cook, even though he protested all he had done was take it out of a box and put it in an oven.

"Oh, hello Larun," he greeted her. He glanced down at his watch, then up at the sky, which was getting dark. "What brings you here at such a late hour?"

"Er well..." Larun started, scratching the back of her neck and looking anywhere but his face. "I know we don't know each other that well, but, you're the only person apart from Yuni that I know at all... Um, I've been staying with Yuni, but now Peter's moving in with her and, well, I'd rather not get in their way, you know? But ah, now I need somewhere else to sleep...?"

"You can stay with me if you want to," Josh suggested. He knew she was avoiding asking him on purpose. He had met people like her before. She didn't want to appear vulnerable, and so never put herself in other people's power. Her intention the whole time had been to see if she could stay with him, but wanted to make it seem as though he was offering it to her, rather than her asking for it.

"Oh, cool, thanks," Larun answered, failing miserably to feign surprise. Josh invited her inside.

**A/N: For those of you wondering: no that's not the beginning of a new romantic relationship. I know some of you are having trouble keeping up with three simultaneous relationships, hell, even ****_I _****struggle sometimes. I have to keep going back and checking what I've already written. Must be hell for you guys :P Anyway, sorry for the slow updates, see you next time.**

**~CrazyBirdMan59 (yes you need reassurance that it's still me. I mean, I could have been taken over by some mind-controlling brain parasite between the last chapter and now, but my signature will put all those fears to rest.) Bye!**


	29. Chapter 28: Status Quo

**A/N: A couple of you (or maybe the same person twice) have requested that I add Professor Anders in, or make a story of her own. This story is ****_probably_**** going to be the last Halo fanfic that I write, and I honestly don't see any way of including Anders in this story as she's from Halo Wars and this is all the way at the end of Halo 3, not to mention the fact that I'll have to wrack my brain for some excuse to have her on Sangheilios. Rest assured, if I do end up making another Halo fic, I'll include her in it. I was actually thinking of doing a Halo crossover sometime in the future. Either Stargate/Halo or Alien &amp; Predator/Halo. If I do, I'll put the good professor in there.**

**On another note, I am running out of ideas and the story's probably going to end soon, so if there's something else you'd like to see in this story you'd better speak up soon. Sorry it took so long to put this chapter up.  
~CrazyBirdMan59 (And definitely not a mind-controlling memory-stealing brain parasite)**

It was the dawn of a new day, or the final day of Daniel's R'n'R period with his wife. He and Thelya were waiting outside Doctor Fisher's office/residence. Thelya had her head resting on Daniel's shoulder while they chatted idly.

"Maybe we ought to head over to Kath's place after we're done here. I mean, if I can get you pregnant, it would only be logical that Lanai would be able to get Kath pregnant," Daniel suggested.

"Perhaps. Who knows, maybe Pete will end up being a father also," Thelya put in sleepily.

"Then again, maybe only Sangheili are strong enough to produce offspring with humans and I'm worrying for nothing?"

"I do not believe that is how it works," Thelya chuckled. Daniel blushed a bit, then quickly recovered.

"Now you know why I chose to be a soldier and not a doctor. Or a biologist. Or a zoologist. Or a –"

"I get your point Daniel," Thelya cut him off. She nuzzled her cheek into his shoulder to try and get more comfortable. "So what were you hoping Doctor Fisher could do for us?"

"I dunno. I guess this is mostly for her benefit rather than ours, but it'd be nice if she could give us a bit of a heads up. You know, whether it's going to be Sangheili or Human."

"Or one of your hybrids," Thelya giggled, then yawned.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" The door swung open and a young lady dressed in a white lab coat stepped in. She adjusted her rectangular wire-framed glasses and glanced at a clipboard she was holding in her hand. She cleared her throat.

"The x-rays, ultrasounds, blood samples and whatnot are really interesting," she stated in her light British accent, "but I'm afraid they're not of much help to us. The symptoms you described," here she gave a nod to Thelya, "match what any regular pregnant Sangheili should be experiencing. _However,_ a lot of these symptoms are strictly human; such as the Morning Sickness. And, er, the ultrasound and the x-rays didn't help at all seeing as I'm not familiar with Sangheili anatomy. The blood samples were only for curiosity's sake, though I noticed a slight increase in hormonal activity than normal."

"Does that mean anything?" Daniel asked. Doctor Fisher bit her lip.

"Ah, no. Sorry." She cleared her throat again. "In short: I'm as clueless as you are." Daniel stood and shrugged.

"Well, at least we gave you something to study, or pin on your wall, or whatever you doctors do with your thingy-majiggies."

"Thingy... majiggies?" Thelya inquired, raising an eyebrow. Daniel laughed and took her hand in his.

"Just smile, nod your head, and pretend you know what he's talking about," Doctor Fisher advised. "After all; isn't that what marriage is all about?" she added with a wink. Daniel gave her a mock-scowl before leaving with his wife. After walking together in silence for a few seconds, Daniel commented:

"Well, it's more fun being a surprise anyway. I mean, imagine knowing exactly how your child's going to be when they're born, what they're going to grow up to be and knowing there's nothing you can do to change it."

"This is slightly different Daniel," Thelya told him, missing his point.

"No. I mean, just imagine it. What would be the point of raising a child then?"

"Well, I suppose if we knew who they were going to be when they were older, they may be a warrior of high honour and respect, and we would be proud parents to have produced such a fine specimen of our cultures."

"And what if they were destined to work in a cramped office staring at a small screen all day?"

"Then our child could have done a lot worse."

"But as soon as you knew, your dreams of them becoming a warrior would be crushed. You could have no hope to change it, because it was already set. I can just imagine seeing the fire dying in your eyes seeing that our child will never become what you wished they would."

"_Daniel!_ You know I would be proud of any child I made with you no matter what they become; warrior, office worker or otherwise."

"Okay, I'll admit, I put that badly. I guess... what I mean is that with all these tests we can use to find things out about our child, what colour their eyes will be, what gender they'll be, all that stuff, it just leaves no room for hopes and imagination. You know?" Thelya wore a blank expression that clearly relayed that she did not know. "Never mind, forget I said anything." They continued walking in silence from then on until,

"So what you are trying to say is that as parents it is our duty to make our child the best person we can; to give them the best life that we can. And out of a warrior and an office worker, the better of the two would be the former. If our child was destined to become an office worker and we knew it, we would not bother trying to make them a warrior. If they were destined to become an office worker and we did not know it, we would do everything in our power to make them a warrior. So the point is, we would not give our child the best if we knew they were not going to turn out to be the best?"

"Yes," Daniel answered quietly. "That's exactly it."

"And that is why you would rather not know anything about our child before they are born?"

"Yeah. And plus, it's customary for the couple to think of names to give the child if they turn out to be a boy and names to give them if they turn out to be a girl, and that's always fun."

"And our job is made twice as hard seeing as we have to think of male and female names for both humans and Sangheili. After all, would it not be ridiculous to see a human walking around named 'Der'harr' or 'Klewaizki'?" Daniel laughed at this, but also about something else in his head.

"Or a Sangheili named 'Rose' or 'Lily'," he added when he could breathe properly again. The mere thought of a big, tall, muscly, disciplined creature such as a Sangheili having such a dainty and delicate name like 'Lily' sent him back into fits of laughter. Finally they arrived at the door to their home. "You know, Rose is actually quite a good one. If we have a daughter – a _human _daughter – we've gotta call her Rose, okay?"

"Whatever you think is best Daniel. You can think of the human names, I shall think of the Sangheili names," Thelya suggested as they slipped inside.

"Yeah, and that's only the first name. We also need to give them middle names. Hey – how about if they're a human, they're middle name is Sangheili, and if they're Sangheili they can have a human middle name?"

"Deal," Thelya agreed. Together, they spent the next couple of hours discussing names to give their child.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

T'kel 'Wattamee sat in his home, pondering his whole situation. Things had really gotten out of hand; he needed to pull his life back together. _And now's your chance... _the object in front of him seemed to be screaming. It was a small Sangheili mail device. On the screen was one message he didn't know how to respond to. First he had tried to win Thelya's hand in marriage in a duel of honour, but had been beaten by a human, Daniel. Then he had met Maria, engaged in a 'casual sexual relationship' with her, which he only understood now. After he proposed to her, she told him that she didn't like him in _that_ way, and that it would probably be best if they found new partners.

Basically, she had broken up with him. So having lost his honour and potential mate, he had fallen into a kind of depression for a while and lost his job for a lack of actually showing up to do it. Now here it was, right in front of him, an offer that he should by all rights be unable to refuse. An offer for him to become the new Arbiter. He finally leant forward and typed in his response. _I would be honoured to accept this great responsibility you have so graciously bestowed upon me._ He sent the message to the High Council and smiled softly. Now he could make things right.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

"Is three fours a winning hand?"

"Yuni – you just..." Pete sighed. "Yuni, the point of poker is that you _don't _tell the other people your hand."

"You're already well acquainted with my hand," Yuni grinned, flexing one of her clawed hands to him.

"Yuni, I swear, if you're not messing with me –"

"It's okay Pete, I think I get it now. Well, I get the game, I don't get why we'd play poker for possession of money when we share what we've got anyway."

"Well, actually me, Daniel, Kath, Zack and a couple of other guys you don't know get together to play every once in a while, and I thought I'd bring you along next time," he explained.

"Really? Cool! I finally get to meet more of your friends."

"Yeah, and I'm going to teach you how to be better than them at poker. The good news is, you're going to be a lot better than Thelya is."

"Oh, and why is that?" Yuni inquired, smirking.

"Well, Sangheili usually have a hard time grasping anything that's _fun_. They're too literal and stoic for my tastes. Besides, this game requires a bit of _intelligence_," Pete said with a sly wink and a nudge with his elbow.

"Pete!" Yuni gasped in amused surprise. "I'm going to take that as a compliment to myself rather than an insult to Thelya."

"Why not both?" Pete asked, leaning in closer.

"Oh grow up," Yuni scoffed, rolling her eyes. Pete grinned evilly. "Typical males, always comparing their mates to their friends'. Why can't you just – eeek!" she squealed as Pete tackled her onto the couch. He held her down as she squirmed a bit, before surrendering with a smile.

"What now?" she asked, her smile growing slightly.

"This," Pete whispered, then gave her a quick kiss on the beak before pulling away and standing back up.

"That's it?" Yuni asked, sounding a little disappointed, still lying in the same position on the couch. Pete winked at her.

"If you want more, let's raise the stakes. Each round of poker you win, I do something else you'll like."

"You're on!" Yuni exclaimed, scrambling up to reclaim her position at the table, reinvigorated by the change in the stakes.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Lanai placed the last Oorai fruit in the small bowel on the table. He glanced uncertainly at the candles. Someone had told him that humans liked candles. They found them romantic or something. Then again, Kath seemed to go against a lot of the human women stereotypes. He tapped his finger against the table in indecision. _Would she like a romantic dinner, or perhaps something simpler?_ As he was thinking, he remembered something she had said to him the previous night.

_"__I am just afraid I will disappoint you," he had said to her, "I want to be everything you look for in a mate."_

_"__Lanai," she murmured to him sweetly. "You already are. I love you for who you are; never try to change yourself for me."_

_"__I do not want to lose you Kather – ahem, Kath."_

_"__Just be yourself and you never will. But I _am _glad you've stopped calling me 'Katherine'. That was starting to get on my nerves a bit."_

Lanai remembered them laughing together after that. He remembered _her _laugh. She had enjoyed their time together simply because they _were _together, and that wasn't about to change. _She loves me because I am me. So, what kind of dinner would _I _enjoy...?_ He swept the candles off the table and carried it outside, underneath the Vundirr tree in his garden. When she arrived, the tree's shadow would give them a perfect reprieve from the hot sun. He smiled. _Simpler it is then._


	30. Chapter 29: Jaiya

**A/N: Sorry for the time skip, but I can't really think of any other way to make long time short.**

Three months. Three months since Daniel had impregnated Thelya with their child. And already he felt a hand on his shoulder, rousing him from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and glanced back at his wife.

"Daniel..." she murmured, a pained look on her face. Her hand gripped his tightly. "Daniel, I think it is time." Daniel glanced down at her stomach, which had swollen considerably in the past two months, then back at her face, which bore a grimace. He nodded and slid out of bed quickly, throwing on a coat and some shoes. He helped Thelya into a gown and hurried her downstairs to the front door. The night air had a bit of a frosty bite to it, making Daniel shiver as he lead Thelya to the only place he could think to go.

Doctor Fisher looked startled when the former Arbiter and her husband burst into her office. She had been working late on some tissue samples, but now it looked as though she had some more important work to do.

"Doc, we need doctors – Sangheili _and _human!" Daniel cried, his eyes wild with nerves. Fisher nodded and quickly vacated to room to wake her associates via her radio. Daniel gave Thelya's hand a comforting squeeze, though who he was trying to comfort he didn't know. "This is it," he breathed.

"I wish that you could be there with me Daniel, when I am giving birth," Thelya whimpered, nuzzling him.

"Wh-what? Of course I'll be there Thel! I won't leave your side 'til I'm holding our child in my arms!" Daniel exclaimed, but Thelya shook her head.

"Only females are allowed to be present during the process, it is an ancient custom."

"You kidding me?" Doctor Fisher sighed, having just re-entered the room. "I just pulled three men out of their beds at two in the morning for no reason?"

"Not at all," Thelya assured her. "Once I have given birth, the male doctors may be quite useful. It is only during the process they are forbidden to enter." Fisher nodded and directed her into a side room with a comfortable bed and plenty of medical equipment. Daniel stayed with them as long as possible, but was forced to leave when the Sangheili doctors showed up.

He spent the next fifteen minutes pacing outside in the hallway, hearing pained cries and (he assumed) Sangheili curses. It was all he could do to stop himself from tearing down the door and soothing her personally. One of the male doctors waiting with him put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay Daniel. She'll be fine. Soon you'll be holding that hybrid you always wanted." Daniel chuckled nervously, but his heart wasn't in it. He resumed pacing. Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal the smiling face of Doctor Fisher.

"All clear Sergeant," she told him cheekily, giving him a mock-salute. Daniel was too busy pushing past her and rushing to his wife's side to remind her he'd retired. He clasped Thelya's hand and smiled in relief as he stared into her eyes. She looked exhausted, but she was alive and healthy according to the report one of the Sangheili doctors was giving him. Another of the female Sangheili doctors stepped over to him and held out his newly born baby, wrapped snugly in a cyan blanket.

Daniel's heart skipped a beat and his hands seemed to move slow-motion as he took the baby from her arms. For the brief seconds it took for him to get a comfortable grip his mind was racing with wonders as to what his baby would be. He gently pushed back the folds of blanket that was shadowing its face and gasped at what he saw.

Two eyes of the purest blue stared up at him. They were slitted like a snake's, and looked almost too big for its head, which was sleek and angular and covered in thick pink skin – much too thick and rough to be human. The jaw of the baby's face split into four mandibles which currently had no teeth decorating them.

"It's a girl," Doctor Fisher informed him, appearing behind him. Daniel's eyes drifted up to lock with Thelya's.

"Jaiya," she murmured softly.

"Jaiya," Daniel repeated, staring back into the eyes of the baby. "Jaiya Rose Vadam."

"Sorry to interrupt, but ah... I'd like to run a few tests, to see what we're dealing with here. You certainly got the hybrid you wanted," Doctor Fisher chuckled. Daniel grinned proudly. "But, that makes things more complicated. I've done considerable amounts of research for you, and so a few quick scans will reveal what you have to feed her, how fast she'll grow and learn, etcetera etcetera. The gestation period certainly wasn't long, ay?" Daniel nodded his agreement as he followed her out the room, quickly shooting Thelya an 'I'll be back' look. The Sangheili sighed and sunk back into the bed, shutting her eyes to rest.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Pete rose early that morning. He yawned, stretched and glanced down at his data-pad, noting he had a new message. He blinked warily and a smile slowly spread across his face as he read it. His ears pricked up as they detected the soft footsteps of Yuni crawling out of bed. He turned to face her.

"Hey Yuni," he greeted her. She peered up at him.

"I still don't get how you do that. I'm extremely light-footed, most humans find it impossible to hear me moving around," she scowled.

"That doesn't matter right now... Thelya just gave birth." Yuni's eyes widened slightly as she padded over to him. He gestured at the data-pad in his hand and let Yuni read the message. She smiled and placed it on the bedside table.

"Good for them." She stood for a moment, pondering. "You know, _we _should have kids one day – if we can." Pete bit his lip sadly.

"Can't," he stated bluntly. Upon receiving a questioning glance from Yuni, he elaborated: "Sterile." Yuni slipped her arms around him and pulled him close, nuzzling his chest with her beak lovingly.

"Hey, who cares? There's a good chance we wouldn't have been able to have kids anyway," she reassured him. Pete sighed a bit, then returned the embrace. After a minute of silence, he spoke up again.

"It... it wasn't natural," he blurted. "It's a side effect of an... experiment." He spat out the last word as if it were poison.

"What experiment?" Yuni squeaked. Pete sat down and pulled her onto his lap.

"You know what Spartans are, right?" Yuni nodded the affirmative. "I was kidnapped, turned into a prototype for the soldiers that would be infamous in the future. Believe it or not, I'm better than the Master Chief in some ways, in others, not so much. My skeleton was actually coated with titanium or something, chemicals were injected into my body. Not all of them worked. Many nearly killed me. The project was scrapped; they deemed me too expensive to reproduce, but too expensive to just throw away. I was frozen cryogenically for god knows how long. I was woken up when the base came under attack. I escaped, everyone and everything else was destroyed, leaving no evidence of the project's existence apart from the ideas in Halsey's head."

Yuni wasn't sure how to respond.

"Does... anyone else know?" she inquired shakily.

"Just a few officers and medical staff. For all I know they could be dead now. I've sworn them all to secrecy anyways..." he stared deeply into Yuni's eyes, concern knotting his brow. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" Yuni shook her head insistently.

"Not without your permission."

"It's funny though," Pete mused, "how for so long I thought it a curse, yet it ended up saving my life so many times. Just recently – the Mongoose explosion. If I had been just another marine I would have been incinerated. Some Elites took it upon themselves to try and kill me, but I was stronger than them thanks to my augment-augem... fucking steroid thingies." Yuni gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for telling me. It really means a lot to me."

"Of course Yuni. I love you."

"I love you too Pete."

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Lanai thrust his holo-pad in Kath's face.

"See?" he exclaimed, jabbing his finger at some Sangheili symbols.

"Lanai, you know I'm not bilingual, right?" Lanai cocked his head, then uttered an 'oh' of realisation and quickly pressed the translate button. The symbols rearranged themselves into the English alphabet, and Kath scanned the page, smiling warmly. "Good on you Daniel, ya finally got those hybrids you wanted." Lanai chuckled throatily and set the holo-pad down. "You know, for the sake of science, we should have kids to see what they'd turn out like. Having a Sangheili mother made the child more Sangheili than human, so would a human mother make it more human than Sangheili?"

"Kath, I may not be a biologist, but I do know enough about genes and DNA to know that is not how it works." Kath stroked his cheek giggling evilly.

"Well done, you just talked a girl out of getting laid with you." She then disappeared into the bedroom, as if to emphasise the fact that they could have been doing something else in there. Lanai shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Women," he snorted. Then, as an afterthought: "_Human _women."

**A/N: Thank you to "Human Rebel" for your review, it was quite helpful. While I feel that most people wouldn't agree with me killing the child, and transferring people to Earth would be too hard to cram into these next chapters (I know I've said it before, but the story will be drawing to a close in the next couple of chapters), you've given me inspiration for future events and what I like to think of as a nice ending.**

**~CrazyBirdMan59**


	31. Chapter 30: New Relations

**A/N: I'm not sure that Jaiya is a Chinese name... it was just another name I made up because it seemed Sangheili-ish. But if it ****_is _****a Chinese name then... well, lol I guess. End A/N.**

**U.N. Headquarters, Manhattan, New York, Earth.  
August 19, 2569, 10:45am.**

"Right this way Senator. I hope your bodyguards haven't given you too much trouble, but you can never be too sure. Just like on Sangheilios, there are people here who _will _want to kill you." The stout man cleared his throat nervously and ran a nervous hand through his receding grey hair. "Er, not that you need to worry about that. That's why we have bodyguards!" he clapped his clammy hands together as he pushed a door open, allowing the Sangheili to step through.

"I'm confident in mankind's ability to protect me," the alien assured him in its feminine voice.

"And you have every right to be! We won't fail you, or your parents for that matter." The Sangheili grimaced slightly at the mention of her parents. She wondered how they were, and if they'd received her message yet. She counted the days in her head. Yes, her message should have reached Sangheilios by now. "Oh! Your brother's waiting for you in the cafeteria. You have about an hour before the council starts, so make the most of it. Also, don't forget to take a little time to explore. God knows I'd be fascinated if I were on Sangheilios right now, you must be eager to take a look around. New York may not be the most beautiful place on the planet, but it's home. Well, my home – and yours too, until you go back to Sangheilios."

"There's a high chance that'll never happen," the Sangheili informed him grimly.

"But your parents..."

"I am my own woman now. I'll never learn to fly if I never leave the nest, right?"

"Er... oh, yes. Quite." The man barely managed to catch on to the sudden switch to metaphors. He nearly got a heart attack, thinking that Sangheili could fly. Having nests he could imagine though. "Well, if you should need me, call for Andre, Eugene Andre."

"Will do, catch ya later," the Sangheili agreed, waving to him as he hurried off to attend to his next job. She continued walking the ten metres to the cafeteria doors, until a shout caught her attention.

"Jaiya! Hey, over here!" She turned and grinned at the familiar voice. Henry, her adoptive brother, jogged over to her. "I was just about to go looking for you. Where were you?" he asked.

"I was being lectured about bodyguards and safety protocols. Believe it or not, people here want to kill the big scary alien more than they want to kill the puny little human, hm?" Henry huffed and pouted at her.

"Who you calling puny? Were you surviving apocalypses when you were two? Didn't think so." Jaiya rolled her eyes at her brother's familiar antics. Considering their significant physical differences, it hadn't exactly been hard to accept that one of them was adopted, so when Henry had been told the story of how he became a war orphan, he mourned for the parents he never knew, then moved on. He now found it amusing to remind Jaiya of it constantly, mostly because she was just starting to develop a sense for honour and glory, as was her species' way. And even she couldn't deny, surviving a Brute invasion at the age of two was quite the glorious feat, even if it had just been pure luck on his part.

Jaiya ruffled her brother's hair in the way she knew he hated, then started walking. Henry furiously fixed up the mess she'd made, then hurried to catch up. "You know," he started, "I still think the only reason you do that is because you're jealous."

"Hmm," Jaiya hummed. "I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. Doctor Fisher said that my body has the right alleles, it just depends on if my body's gonna use them or not. So far my Sangheili genes have proved to be the dominant though. But who knows what my genotype will produce in the future? It's quite fascinating really."

"Uh huh." Henry nodded, pretending to be as interested as her. "You do know that you're a huge nerd, right?" Jaiya had taken to learning about biology and genetics from an early age. She was intrigued about hybrids between species and wanted to know how it worked.

Henry however, had shown no such interest in those topics. Instead, he was training to be a UNSC guard, Ambassadorial and Alien Relations Division. Secretly, he and his father had been pulling a few strings to get him assigned to his sister. He didn't want to admit it, but they had been inseparable for their whole lives, and he wasn't about to let that change. "Anyway, Ryan and Jess are gonna be sticking around for a few days before they head out on their first assignment, so I thought we should spend a little time with them before the AARD calls me."

Jaiya nodded in agreement. Ryan and Jess were Kig-Yar 'twins' that had been adopted by Pete and Yuni. The truth was that nobody really knew what their relation was, all that was known about them was that they'd been found, damaged but alive, in the ruins of a Kig-Yar village in the final days before the Treaty was made. Their human names came from the fact Yuni didn't feel right about having two completely alien children with no link to Pete. The five children had been friends since their early days because of the close bonds their parents had forged.

The fifth child, of course, belonged to Kath and Lanai. J'kidell had stayed behind on Sangheilios. Jaiya took a moment to feel sorry for him, having to say goodbye to most of his friends for Forerunners-know-how-long, but took comfort in the fact that Ryan and Jess would be heading back in a few days. In a few weeks, J'kidell would receive a pleasant surprise. "Jaiya?" She blinked as she was dragged back to reality. She turned and realised her brother had stopped and was standing next to an open door about five metres behind her.

Henry gave her a funny look. "If you don't want to say hi to Jess 'n' Ryan, you coulda just said so," he joked.

"Sorry, I just got thinking about J'kidell. And mum and dad for that matter. They must miss us," she apologised.

"And I them," Henry pointed out. "But I know that no matter how far away from home we are, they're proud of us. We're making the galaxy a better place." Jaiya smiled at that.

"Following in their footsteps," she added.

"Yeah. I wouldn't mind following in dad's footsteps."

"Only dad's?"

"You know... taking a Sangheili wife, hybrid children and stuff. I'd also like to adopt a war orphan, just like him. I got a second chance, so why shouldn't I do the same for someone else?"

"That's really sweet. I never knew you were that kind of guy Henry."

"Hey, when I said Sangheili, I didn't mean you. So don't go hitting on me, okay?"

"Oh, Henry! Gross!" Jaiya cried, swatting at him playfully. Henry laughed manically and danced inside the doorway, avoiding her flailing limbs. Seconds later she made out the sound of Ryan's voice, then Jess's soon after. She wondered for a moment what her future would be like. It would be a lot harder for her, seeing as she had to try and fit into human society and all. She didn't know if she'd be able to cope once Henry left to become a guard for some Sangheili out there. She sighed. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

She walked on through the doorway, taking a quick stop to visit the bathroom. She checked herself in the mirror, straightening her the black jacket that covered her T-shirt which hung loosely over some faded blue jeans. She realised she'd have to change into something more formal for the council meeting, but that wouldn't be for some time.

She took a moment to yet again study the biological wonder that was herself. That weird pale pinky-coloured skin, dazzling amber eyes, face split into four mandibles. Her brow was more pronounced than most Sangheili, making her expressions much more human in terms of having 'eyebrows'. She had the built frame which came naturally to Sangheili, with minor differences, such as her hands. She looked down at the body parts in question and wriggled all ten of her fingers. She found her human-like hands much more practical than Sangheili hands and found they were much more dexterous as well.

She once again wondered what her children would look like, especially if she mated with another hybrid. Perhaps J'kidell...

"Jaiya! What the hell's taking you so long? We haven't seen you in days!" That was Jess, the louder and more obnoxious of the two. She quickly concluded her activities an hurried to join her friends. There would be time enough for pondering her future later, right now she had to make the most of her time with her friends. She may not see them again for a very, very long time. Come tomorrow, they would be gone.  
But that was tomorrow.

And tomorrow is another day.

**A/N: Not sure what you think of that, but that is to be the last chapter of this story. Sorry it took so long to update, and I hope you're not disappointed with the outcome of your long wait. Thank you so much for all your support, reviews, favourites and follows. I really enjoyed writing this and you guys really spurred me on, even if school did get in the way a bit.**

**I love you all and hope to see you in any future books I write!**

**~CrazyBirdMan59, over and out.  
(Wow. I really expected to have something better to say to you all, but there really are no words to describe how thankful I am that you guys have been here for me, giving me nothing but kind words and encouragement to keep me going. Again, I can't thank you guys enough for this. Goodbye for now!)  
~CrazyBirdMan59, leaving for realsies this time. Bye.**


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